The U.S. Postal Service is extending expected delivery times for packages moving to and from Alaska, Hawai‘i and several U.S. territories under two of its major shipping products, USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail.
According to a Sept. 25 agency notice, the changes are designed to improve customer satisfaction by setting service expectations that more closely reflect available transportation options and the distances involved.
USPS Ground Advantage, the Postal Service’s flagship ground package service, is generally marketed with delivery times of two to five days. Effective Oct. 1, however, shipments to and from Alaska, Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau now carry a service expectation of 10 days or more.
The Postal Service noted that actual transit times will vary because of the significant differences in distance between the locations involved. While most transit times have been adjusted, some service expectations could be considerably longer than 10 days.
The agency has also changed how it transports lighter Ground Advantage packages moving to and from noncontiguous U.S. locations. Packages weighing less than one pound are now primarily transported by surface transportation, following the same approach already used for shipments weighing more than one pound.
Previously, sub-pound Ground Advantage packages were moved through a combination of air and surface transportation.
According to USPS, the change is intended to simplify transportation operations while reducing the likelihood that hazardous materials items will be transported by air.
Priority Mail timeframes also extended
Priority Mail delivery expectations have also been lengthened for the affected destinations. The service typically carries a two-to-three-day delivery expectation, but USPS said the adjustments are necessary because of travel times and time-zone differences.
As of Oct. 1, Priority Mail shipments to or from Alaska, Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a two-to-four-day service expectation.
For shipments to or from Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, the expectation has been extended to two-to-six days.
USPS emphasized that the adjustments do not mean that Priority Mail transportation methods or schedules have changed. Instead, the agency said the revised timeframes are intended to bring published service expectations into closer alignment with actual performance and existing transportation capabilities.
Priority Mail Express service expectations remain unchanged for packages traveling to and from the affected locations.
USPS remains critical for remote communities
The changes are particularly relevant for remote U.S. communities, many of which depend heavily on the Postal Service for package delivery.
Private carriers can decide not to serve locations where delivery costs are particularly high or can add additional fees to cover those costs. USPS, by contrast, is required to provide affordable nationwide service under its universal service obligation.
As a result, the Postal Service is “the only delivery entity serving residents in some rural or remote locations,” according to a Sept. 30 report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General.
The report also noted that private carriers have greater flexibility to exclude certain remote destinations because of higher delivery costs, while USPS cannot do so because of its nationwide service mandate.
Changes come during a broader USPS network overhaul
The revised service expectations arrive as the Postal Service continues a broader overhaul of its delivery network.
That effort includes a cost-saving transportation initiative that has affected on-time delivery performance for some packages originating in rural areas. At the same time, improving service reliability has remained a key priority for Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner, who took over leadership of the agency last year.
By extending the published delivery windows for harder-to-serve destinations, USPS is seeking to bring customer expectations more closely in line with the realities of distance, transportation availability and the operational challenges of serving remote locations.
