Monday to be busiest mailing day of the year for USPS

Monday, December 15, 2014

Monday is the busiest shipping day of the year

More than 640 million cards, letters and packages are expected to be processed nationwide on Monday.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The U.S. Postal Service said Monday will be the busiest mailing day of the year.

An estimated 8.3 million cards, letter and packages are expected to be sent in the Chicago area. More than 640 million cards, letters and packages are expected to be processed nationwide on Monday.

USPS said postal workers will make deliveries seven days a week in the Chicago area. To ensure delivery by Christmas Day, mail should be sent by next Saturday, Dec. 20. Tuesday, Dec. 23 is the deadline for Priority Mail Express.

"We prepare for it all year long, making sure our operations are ready to go," said Mark Reynolds, USPS Chicago spokesperson. "We've hired extra help to get that extra mail out the door and on its way. We are ready for it, it's our season."

If you can't send your gifts to loved ones on Monday, the post office says customers can wait and ship priority, which mail carriers say will allow for delivery by Christmas. And if you can't make it to the post office, they can come to you. All you have to do sign up online.

FedEx is bracing for what's likely to be its busiest day in company history. It expects to handle about 22 million packages on Monday. In 2007, only about 11.5 million packages were shipped.

On the east coast, a FedEx trailer overturned on the New Jersey highway Monday morning when the driver lost control. The company sent crews to the scene shortly after the crash to pick up the packages and continue shipping, hoping to reduce the chance of shipping delays.

FedEx Senior Manager Josef Muftic said the shipper hired more than 50,000 seasonal workers nationwide to help its 300,000 members get packages to customers on time. He said they expect to be working through to Christmas.

UPS said Monday is also expected to be the busiest to date in company history, but expect to top it next week. Monday, Dec. 22 is expected to be UPS's busiest day of the year.

UPS has made improvements to its system since last year, when weather and greater-than-expected demand caused problems. A small percentage of packages didn't make it in time for Christmas delivery in 2013.