"This is our season": Behind the scenes at USPS in Philadelphia during holiday season
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Holiday shipping deadlines are coming up. The United States Postal Service is working around the clock to make sure letters, packages and all things alike make it home for Christmas.
The Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center is like the real North Pole – just in Southwest Philadelphia.
"This is the Super Bowl for the post office," said Roslyn Bowens, who is the senior plant manager at the facility. This year marks three decades with the USPS.
"This our season. We come in prepared to make sure to get everyone's packages out and make it a great holiday," Bowens said.
Since Thanksgiving, the facility has seen a steady increase of mail volume and it's not slowing down any time soon.
Bowens said USPS is processing approximately 200,000 to 250,000 packages a day. They also do anywhere from three to five million letters a day. Plus a massive 200,000 to 300,000 flats a day and they cancel anywhere from 800,000 to 1.2 million letters a day.
"This year, what we saw, is an actual 20% increase in volume," Bowens said.
There's still time to make sure those gifts get under the tree.
Here are the following deadlines for shipping:
USPS
- 12/16: USPS Ground Advantage & First-Class Mail
- 12/20: Priority Mail
- 12/21: Priority Mail Express
UPS
- TBD: Ground Shipping (Dependent on location)
- 12/19: 3 Day Select
- 12/20: 2nd Day Air
- 12/21: Next Day Air
FedEx
- 12/15: Ground Economy
- 12/15-12/22: Home Delivery (Dependent on transit days)
- 12/15-12/21: Ground (Dependent on transit days)
- 12/22: SameDay