LITTLE ROCK, AR — The Postal Service has kicked off the holiday shipping season and announced it will be delivering packages seven days a week starting Nov. 23 through Christmas Day to many larger cities in Arkansas due to continued double digit package volume growth.

“The Postal Service ships more packages to more places than anyone else,” said Little Rock Postmaster Cindy Lyons. “During the holidays, we’re raising the bar with enhanced tracking and Sunday delivery providing excellent service and reliability that only Santa can compete with.”

The following Arkansas cities will be included in the Postal Service’s Sunday delivery efforts:

 Sunday package delivery continues our commitment to provide our customers superior service as the nation’s mail carrier continues to respond for the increase in package business stemming from the growth in e-commerce.
           
“Every household in America relies on us to get their packages in home for the holidays and we take great pride in taking on that responsibility,” said Arkansas District Manager David Campbell.  “We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to delivery for our customers.”

Due to continued e-commerce growth and improvements to its Priority Mail product line, the Postal Service is expecting double-digit growth in its package business this holiday season, likely in the range of 450 to 470 million packages. That equates to roughly 12 to 14 percent growth over the same period last year. 

“This is truly our season at the Postal Service, it is crunch time,” said Lyons. “We have stepped up our game to ensure America that USPS can be counted on to deliver their cards, gifts and letters in time for the holidays.”  

For expected delivery of holiday mail and packages by Christmas, the Postal Service recommends keeping the following mailing and shipping deadlines in mind:

• Dec. 2 – First-Class Mail International/Priority Mail International
• Dec. 10 – Priority Mail Express International
• Dec. 15 – Standard Post
• Dec. 17 – Global Express Guaranteed
• Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail/Priority Mail (domestic)
• Dec. 23 – Priority Mail Express (domestic)

Consumers can avoid holiday hassles by visiting usps.com — the Postal Service’s website that will help make mailing and shipping easier. Nearly 75 million customers will skip the trip to the Post Office altogether and take advantage of convenient online shipping this holiday season. Click-N-Ship and other online services allow customers to print shipping labels, order free Priority Mail boxes, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup.

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

# # #

       
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.