Dec 12, 2020 4 min read

The most wonderful time of the year has become the most “bundle full” time of the year for delivery drivers.

Christmas is less than two weeks away, and the people transporting these treasured gifts purchased online or in stores are driving in droves. Some have been doing this since Thanksgiving weekend, and many are now doing it nearly nonstop as the holiday approaches.

Until Dec. 24, this will be a ho-ho-horrifically frantic time for the U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service, FedEx, Amazon and other carriers. Trucks are being spotted everywhere, operators are parking and running merchandise to front doors, then returning to their vehicles for another delivery … and another. And, of course, regular mail does not stop this time of year.

Preparation, Tad Kelley said, is the key for those in the delivery business.

“There’s no question about it, we at the Postal Service are prepared for the peak season,” said Kelley, spokesperson for USPS’s Western District, based in Pittsburgh. “We’ve been doing this for 240 years.

‘”Our employees are dedicating their time to shine now. They get great satisfaction connecting families.”

To accommodate customers, Kelley said, the Postal Service started making Sunday deliveries after Thanksgiving. “Our employees are delivering early in the day in some instances, including parcels,” Kelley said. “Some people may not be expecting deliveries early, so we ask them to put a porch light on.”

He said USPS also has expanded retail hours at certain locations, and is allowing package pickups at those offices on Sundays.

“We’re trying to offer service almost seven days a week.”

Kelley said he could not provide “hard numbers” on delivery industry traffic, but said he has heard it has increased 10 to 15%.

Because of the perpetual increase in e-commerce, some delivery companies run out of vehicles in their fleet and turn to truck leasing companies. An employee at Penske Truck Rental on Murtland Avenue in South Strabane Township, who gave her name as Lisa, said FedEx, UPS, and Amazon rent nationwide from Penske during the holiday season.

UPS and FedEx declined requests from the Observer-Reporter to be interviewed.

Kelley said the Postal Service has “a tremendous fleet of trucks” and doesn’t have to lease them from other companies. “Some employees do use their own vehicles, especially in rural areas.”

One thing a USPS driver will not do, he said, is sprint to a customer, deliver a package, then sprint back to the truck and race to the next destination. This isn’t Mr. McFeely with his “speedy delivery.”

“We are adamant about safety,” Kelley said. “Park the vehicle properly, on the property, turn off the engine and do not run to make a delivery. We don’t want anyone hurt because there might be a holdup in deliveries.”

USPS wasn’t the only operation ramping up weeks ago. The Associated Press reported a month ago that FedEx and UPS were already increasing holiday hiring and expanding weekend operations. Best Buy, AP reported, converted space in 250 of its 1,000 stores to accommodate online orders.

Brie Carere, chief marketing and communications officer at FedEx, told AP: “We are warmed up for what we’re calling the ship-a-thon. Like everything else in 2020, this is going to be an unprecedented peak season.”

That is probably the case. Although the yule season may be the stretch run, Kelley still urges customers to mail as early as they can, and that mailing early in the day helps. There is still time to turn to the Postal Service.

“This is really our season, this is what we do,” he said. “It has not been easy with COVID, but we’re doing our jobs.”