WASHINGTON — Tomorrow is the busiest delivery day of the year with the Postal Service projecting a 12 percent increase in package volume over last year’s holiday season. More than 470 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

“This is our season and with Thursday being the busiest delivery day of the year, we’re stepping up to the plate to deliver millions of packages tomorrow,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “Double digit increases in package business tell us America has placed their trust in us to get their packages delivered in time for holidays — and we’re committed to do just that.”

The Postal Service is delivering seven days a week in major cities and high volume areas including Christmas Day. Dec. 20 is the deadline to mail greeting cards, packages and letters to ensure delivery in time for Christmas. For the last-minute shoppers, Dec. 23 is the deadline for sending packages using Priority Mail Express.

Customers can request free package pickup online and the Postal Service will pick up packages as part of regular mail delivery the next business day.  Unlike other shipping companies, there is no fee for this service.

Reporters interested in following letter carriers on the busiest delivery day may contact regional Postal Service public relations professionals at about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm. A complete list of the holiday shipping deadlines can be found at usps.com/holidaynews.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Postsblog (uspsblog.com).

For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.