Post Office Opens Some Centers for 7-Day Service

Coping with increased volume from the UPS strike, the post office began seven-day-a-week package deliveries Sunday in some metropolitan areas.

“The Postal Service is now delivering dramatically increased volumes of mail that rival those we experience during the Christmas period,” said Nicholas Barranca, U.S. Postal Service vice president, in a statement.

The post office already has Sunday deliveries of guaranteed overnight Express Mail, which continue. Spokesman Mark Saunders said the decision was left to local post offices whether to add Sunday deliveries of priority mail and parcel post packages to make room for packages expected early in the week.

“We’re doing this to stay ahead of the capacity of mail that is coming in as a result of the UPS strike,” he said. “We want to be on the safe side and serve our customers.”

Saunders couldn’t say which post offices were making Sunday deliveries but said there are hundreds across the country, mostly in metropolitan areas. He said 17 post offices in the Chicago area are delivering. No information on Los Angeles-area facilities was available Sunday.

The Postal Service has seen a 70% increase in express mail, which guarantees overnight delivery. Priority mail is up by 50% and parcel post volume has increased by 20% over the corresponding period last year, Saunders said.

The post office normally delivers 6 million packages within its 600 million pieces of mail each day, Saunders said. The service expects eventually to handle 15% to 20% of the 12 million packages UPS normally delivers each day, Saunders said.