Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Postal Service will temporarily send some volume to alternate processing locations as it installs new package sortation equipment in multiple facilities this month, according to an April 1 agency announcement.
- As a result of the volume shifts, Postal Service customers may see processing scans reflect packages being sent to alternate locations during installation. For example, originating package volume normally handled by the agency’s Lexington, Kentucky, processing and distribution center will use a location in Louisville as an alternate site.
- Some facilities aren't expected to see any impacts from their installations, such as the Postal Service's regional processing and distribution center in Memphis, Tennessee. The agency also said there are no impacts to customer drop locations or appointment scheduling in its Facility Access and Shipment Tracking (FAST) system at this time.
U.S. Postal Service upgrades to impact some processing facilities
Dive Insight:
The installations mark another round of equipment upgrades and volume shifts for the Postal Service this year, adding to the agency’s push to modernize its existing infrastructure.
"New equipment investments will increase package sorting throughputs, increase automation capabilities for larger packages, increase sortation accuracy, and improve machine reliability," the Postal Service said.
As of December, the agency had added 600 package sorting machines over a five-year period, expanding its daily processing capacity from 60 million to 88 million. The machines have automated scanning capabilities, enabling tracking visibility for customers. They also allow the agency to handle larger packages than legacy equipment.
Winning heavier and higher-value packages is a priority for Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner as the agency looks to better compete with FedEx and UPS. During a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing in March, Steiner noted that the Postal Service's network was originally designed to handle lower-weight packages.
Beyond new sortation equipment, the Postal Service has been making other adjustments to its operations amid an ongoing network overhaul. The agency has opened dozens of new sorting and delivery centers — a key component of its 10-year "Delivering for America" plan — since 2022 to aggregate work previously handled by smaller-scale delivery units.
