Surging e-commerce volumes during the coronavirus pandemic are straining the U.S. Postal Service’s parcel network as staffing shortages and backlogs in hard-hit areas slow deliveries, reports The Wall Street Journal (June 1, 2020). The problems have delayed some packages for days and even weeks, shippers and consumers say, holding up orders at a time when many people are shopping more online to avoid infection with the virus.
The slow deliveries have complicated business for e-commerce sellers who rely on the Postal Service to ship packages at affordable rates, and tracking services have added to the frustrations, with some items appearing to get stuck at certain locations or vanishing altogether. Transit times for USPS shipments to customers in some cases doubled or even tripled in recent weeks. Like private delivery giants UPS and FedEx, the Postal Service is coping with unexpected holiday-level package volumes as the pandemic adds to operational and financial stresses. UPS is imposing extra fees to help offset those costs, while FedEx is limiting the number of items some retailers can ship.
Coronavirus has also taken a toll on postal workers. About 2,830 of the Postal Service’s 630,000 employees have tested positive for Covid-19. Between April 19 and May 23, USPS delivered 89.5% of priority mail packages on time, compared with 87.4% the prior month. (UPS delivered 96.5% of business-to-consumer shipments on time that same period). “The parcel volumes have gone up, we are probably working at a holiday volume rate, but we’re doing it with about a 74% staffing level,” said a USPS union official.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Why is the USPS struggling to keep up with competition?
- What can be done to meet budget deficits?