The United States Postal Service has shipping deadlines for holiday cards and gifts that come during an especially turbulent shopping season.
The USPS website states that ground shipments of packages within the contiguous US must be sent by December 15 to ensure they arrive by Christmas. First-class mail, priority mail, or priority mail express services must be processed by December 17 and 23.
If you want to send first-class packages to Hawaii, you need to send via first-class service by December 18.
This year's deadlines come amid an ongoing supply chain crisis which has caused severe bottlenecks at major US ports and led to delayed shipments, product shortages, and widespread inflation. Some ships have been stuck at the ports for up to two months as they wait to dock and unload.
Victoria's Secret expects 45% of its fall inventory to be stuck at sea because of the backlogs. In September, freightos found that shipments were taking more time than they had in the past.
The USPS said earlier this month that it is prepared for the busy holiday season and this year's particular challenges, and that it has made several key investments to ensure that all holiday shipments arrive on time.
The USPS said in a statement on November 18 that they had accelerated key processing, logistics and delivery investments to support higher volumes delivery demands during the holidays. "Our advice to consumers this holiday is the same as always: plan ahead and mail early, particularly when shipping long distance."
In August, the USPS announced it would implement temporary price hikes for holiday shipments. Depending on the weight and shipping zone, the increases range from $0.75 to $5.
The USPS stated that the rate adjustment was similar to one in 2020 that anticipated heightened peak-season package and shipping demand.
