US Postal Service processing center prepares for holiday rush with additional employees, faster sorting machines

The holiday season is upon us – so it’s time to think about shipping gifts to friends and loved ones before it’s too late. The good news is the U.S. Postal Service has more help and a faster system to ship those packages.

At the US Postal Service package processing operation in Raleigh, this is always their busiest time of year. Philip Bogenberger with the USPS said, "We’re certainly seeing an up-tick in volume, especially, you know, following Thanksgiving".

He says they’re working harder and working smarter than ever before. "Nationwide we have hired 28,000 seasonal workers just for this holiday season, but we’ve also converted 100,000 part-time employees to full time employees over the last two years," said Bogenberger.

He added, "This is a great place to work. We’re always hiring because we’re always growing."

He says they have more hands on more packages with the fastest system ever.

"We installed 249 high speed package sorters throughout the country in the last 2 years! 137 of those were installed this year. That’s high speed packaging sorting machines," said Bogenberger.

That doesn’t mean you can risk missing delivery deadlines:

"We also have local services like Connect Local which can even do same day delivery within a certain zip code," said Bogenberger.

He adds, for some late packages, their new automation system may help make up for lost time. "It’s why mail pieces are only spending 2.5 days in the mail system! I mean, that’s incredible. And that’s delivered 365 days a year. But it’s our time to shine. We do this every year."