Avondale USPS facility prepares for holiday rush with new technology

AVONDALE, Ariz. - The U.S. Postal Service is ready for the holiday rush.

Big picture view:

Inside the postal powerhouse keeping your season bright, USPS is preparing for the rush with new technology and extra staff to deliver holiday cheer.

The machine is capable of processing more than 50,000 packages an hour, which is essential for handling the busiest mailing season of the year.

Local perspective:

Much like Santa’s workshop, the USPS package facility in Avondale is gearing up for the busiest time of the year.

"It’s the holiday season! It’s the time where people are shopping and getting ready for the holiday," said USPS spokesperson Sherry Patterson.

USPS is leaning on technology to help make sure gifts are under the tree by Christmas morning.

"This machine here is 160,000 square feet. It’s the equivalent of three football fields," Patterson said. "We’ve increased our capacity from 60 million packages to 88 million packages nationwide."

The service is also adding extra hands to manage the holiday rush.

"We’ve hired 14,000 seasonal employees to compliment [the] workforce of 232 thousand employees," she added.

Dig deeper:

But the support isn’t just inside. USPS is rolling out more delivery vehicles on the streets too.

"We have 24,000 new vehicles that have been deployed on delivery routes and so we are definitely ready," Patterson said.

They are delivering the holiday magic, one package at a time.

"For 250 years the postal service has been connecting friends and families to communities and it’s no different during the holiday season," Patterson said.

What you can do:

Make sure you’re shipping your packages with plenty of time. For expected delivery before Dec. 25, the Postal Service recommends the following send-by dates:

2025 Holiday Shipping Dates for Contiguous U.S. (Lower 48 States)