Postal Service Preps For Big Holiday Season
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe U.S. Postal Service expects a double-digit boost in mail volume this holiday season. Nationally, USPS says anticipates 600 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a nearly 11 percent increase from last year.
In order to meet demand, the Postal Service is adding 30,000 holiday season workers. It is also offering seven-day-a-week delivery in select cities.
Delivery companies in the private sector are also expecting a big season. Lat month, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), which operates a major distribution hub at Indianapolis International Airport, said it was forecasting around 317 million shipments between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. That total would be a record and be 12 percent higher than last year. UPS (NYSE: UPS), which recently announced a new $300 million sorting facility expansion in Louisville, also anticipates a record season of more than 630 million packages, 10 percent higher than 2014. The expansion project in Louisville could create 300 new jobs and would operate separately from its massive Worldport air service facility in the city.