2011 Holiday Numbers Fact Sheet
 
Q: When will be the "busiest mail day"?    
A: December 20 (Letters and cards). 

Q: What is the “busiest holiday package delivery day”?   
A: December 19. 
 
The Postal Service will deliver 16.5 billion cards, letters, and packages during the holidays, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. 

On average, the Postal Service processes 551 million pieces of mail every day. 

During the holidays, that volume will increase to 589 million pieces of mail. 


Holidays by the Numbers
 
16.5 billion	Number of cards, letters, and packages projected to be delivered during the holidays. 
 
551 million	Average number of pieces of mail projected to be processed daily.
 
589 million	Average number of pieces of mail projected to be processed daily during the holidays.

30 million	In pounds, the amount of mail the Postal Service will process for overseas military installations, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

155,000	Number of vehicles used to transport holiday mail, includes half-ton trucks. 


Mail-by Dates
 
Dec. 15 	Parcel Post
 
Dec. 20 	First Class Mail
 
Dec. 21 	Priority Mail
 
Dec. 22 	Express Mail


10 Things You May Not Know

•	Relative to nonpeak periods, USPS will increase air cargo lift of mail by almost 31 percent. 
•	By Dec. 6, the National Operations Center will be staffed around the clock, 7 days a week, to monitor and coordinate mail transportation nationwide.