U.S. Postal Service prepares for busiest day of the year

[News_Editor]

U.S. Postal Service prepares for busiest day of the year

2010-12-18 20:45:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. Postal Service says it is preparing for the busiest day of the year with more than 800 million pieces of mail expected to enter the system.

Monday marks the Postal Service's busiest mailing day, representing a 40 percent increase in the average daily volume of 559 million pieces of mail.

"There's still time to mail greeting cards and ship presents," said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. "If customers get their cards and packages to us by Tuesday, we'll get them delivered by Christmas."

Customers are advised not to wait too long to avoid any problems with their Christmas deliveries. Take the example of a Kansas woman who received national attention in 2007 when she received a Christmas card which was sent 93 years earlier. It had slid behind something at a Post Office in 1914 and remained there unnoticed until December 2007.

December 20 is the recommended deadline for sending greeting cards and holiday letters to make sure they arrive in time for Christmas. December 21 is the recommended deadline for sending packages using Priority Mail. And for those last-minute shoppers and procrastinators, the Postal Service recommends December 22 as the last day to ship packages using Express Mail.

"Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes and usps.com offer the best shipping solutions for the holidays," said Donahoe. "If the gift fits, it ships for one low rate to anywhere in the country. Go online, create the shipping label and we'll pick up your packages for free. You can even pay for your postage online."

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. Furthermore, it receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500.

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