SALT LAKE CITY – That knock at the door on Sunday just may be a postal carrier with a holiday package. Beginning Sunday, U.S. Postal Service carriers will deliver packages seven days a week through Christmas in 22 Utah cities, from Logan to St. George (see list of cities below). Some post offices began limited Sunday package delivery as early as Nov. 30.
“The Postal Service ships more packages to more places than anyone else,” Salt Lake City Postmaster Steve Chaus said. “During the holidays, we’re raising the bar with enhanced tracking and Sunday delivery, providing excellent service and reliability that only Santa can compete with.”
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Videocast by Melissa Anderson, KCSG and St. George News
The Postal Service expects to deliver 470 million packages this holiday season, an increase of 12 percent over last year. A similar increase is expected in Utah. Growth in e-commerce and improvements to the Postal Service’s priority mail product line, including improved tracking and free insurance, account for the surge in packages, Chaus said.
“Every household in America relies on us to get their packages home for the holidays and we take great pride in taking on that responsibility,” USPS District Manager Jimmy Wolf said. “We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to deliver for our customers.”
In addition to Sunday package delivery, the Postal Service will extend Saturday retail hours at 36 post offices in Utah the three Saturdays before Christmas, with eight opening the two Sundays before Christmas.
Customers can go online or call 800-ASK-USPS to find their nearest post office and retail hours.
“Extending retail hours and adding Sunday hours will help our customers get their packages in the mail at a time that is convenient for them,” Chaus said. “It’s also a good time for customers who have been notified to pick up a package.”
While Saturday hours are being extended and Sunday hours added, Chaus said, customers are reminded they likely already have a 24/7 post office inside their home or business. He encouraged patrons to skip the trip to the post office and ship their packages from the comfort of their home or business at usps.com, where this holiday season 75 million customers are expected to print shipping labels at a discount, order free priority mail boxes, purchase postage and even request free next-day package pickup.
The busiest mailing day of the holidays is expected to be Dec. 15, when more than 640 million pieces of mail will be processed, compared to 528 million pieces on a typical day. The busiest delivery day for packages is expected to be Dec. 18.
“This is truly our season at the Postal Service; it is crunch time,” Chaus said. “We have stepped up our game to assure America that USPS can be counted on to deliver their cards, gifts and letters in time for the holidays.”
Postal Service carriers will deliver packages the three Sundays before Christmas in the following Utah cities: Cedar City, Hurricane, St. George, American Fork, Centerville, Kaysville, Lehi, Logan, Midvale, Ogden, Orem, Pleasant Grove, Price, Provo, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, Spanish Fork, Springville, St. George and West Jordan.
For expected delivery of holiday mail and packages by Christmas, the Postal Service recommends keeping the following mailing and shipping deadlines in mind:
- Dec. 10 – priority mail express international
- Dec. 15 – standard post
- Dec. 17 – global express guaranteed
- Dec. 20 – first-class mail/priority mail (domestic)
- Dec. 23 – priority mail express (domestic)
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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I love the RIverside Post Office here in St George, UT 🙂