That Package Sent Through U.S.P.S May Now Not Be Delivered for 5 Days

Earlier today my wife and I were marveling that some mail we sent from Warrensburg to suburban Dallas made it there in four days. Then I started seeing the stories that the United States Postal Service is moving forward with slowing down some first-class mail this fall. And it immediately aggravated me, at least a little bit.

As part of the Post Office's Delivering for America plan, the USPS will be expanding the delivery window for first-class packages. According to the post office, the current window of delivery for first-class packages is three days in the contiguous United States. The USPS said that the delivery standard is unattainable. And costs the USPS significant money because attempting to meet that delivery window forces it to put mail on airplanes to reach its destination.

Even worse, in many cases flying the mail makes it vulnerable to flight delays, cancellations, and is less reliable than putting it on trucks. That's what the USPS wants to do. Truck the mail, because it's more reliable supposedly. That said, it takes longer to get where it's going.

The Postal Service says in order to meet delivery expectations they'll change the delivery window for first-class packages to up to five days. That said, the change will also increase the number of first-class packages it can deliver in some markets in 1 -2 days, which will make USPS more attractive to consumers.

These changes won't impact first-class mail letters and flats. So yes, while that package sent by the US Mail may take longer for us to get. It shouldn't impact the time it takes to mail a letter. Sometimes, like this week where a card went from Warrensburg to Suburban Dallas over the weekend is good. Other times, where it takes weeks for a card or letter to show up in our mailbox. Well, that's something that still needs to be fixed. Too bad the USPS isn't addressing that.