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Sea Of Mail Is Flowing

Tribune photo by GREG FIGHT

Postal Service worker Leroy Brundidge employs a little English to help a parcel on its way.

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By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 03:24 pm

Holiday Guide | Send A Letter To Santa

TAMPA - Tom Parrish knows the days are dwindling before the big holiday rush.

Soon almost every space in the postal facility on Grant Street will be filled with packages -- many from holiday shippers eager to get their precious parcels posted.

The facility, near the Port of Tampa, processed more than 39.4 million pieces of mail last year with nearly 9.2 million pieces during the holiday season.

"During the heavy season, you just see a sea of mail," said Parrish, a logistics and distribution specialist for the U.S. Postal Service.

"It's just everywhere."

The facility uses two machines, each with the square footage of a football field, to process about 20,000 packages an hour.

The machines rest for only a few hours each day to undergo maintenance.

That isn't enough, though, to keep up with the holiday rush, so sometimes employees also have to sort mail the old-fashioned way: by hand.

One hundred temporary employees are being hired to help with the seasonal deluge, Parrish said.

The busiest days of the year are expected next week: Dec. 17 for the Postal Service and FedEx, and Dec. 19 for UPS.

The Postal Service anticipates handling about 1 billion cards, letters, catalogs, packages and magazines that day. The average daily volume is about 703 million pieces.

Some post offices in Hillsborough County have extended hours on the weekends leading up to Christmas to better accommodate holiday shippers.

FedEx expects to handle 11.3 million packages worldwide on Dec. 17.

FedEx moves more than 7 million packages on an average day.

FedEx Ground plans to hire 15,000 seasonal employees to keep up with the volume, said Steve Barber, a spokesman with FedEx in Memphis, Tenn.

UPS estimates it will handle more than 22 million packages worldwide Dec. 19, compared with moving more than 15 million packages worldwide on a typical day.

Nationwide, UPS anticipates hiring about 60,000 drivers, driver helpers and package sorters, according to Karen Cole, a UPS public relations manager in Atlanta.

HOLIDAY DEADLINES

U.S. Postal Service

The Postal Service recommends that all first-class mail and priority mail be sent by Dec. 20 and that express mail be sent by Dec. 22.

UPS

UPS encourages customers using 3 Day Select to ship by Dec. 19, those using 2nd Day Air to ship by Dec. 20 and those using Next Day Air to ship by Dec. 21.

FedEx

The last day to ship with FedEx Ground is Dec. 17. The last day to ship with FedEx Express is Dec. 22.

ONLINE SERVICES

If you want to avoid waiting in lines or to complete some shipping tasks at home, here are some helpful Web sites:

The U.S. Postal Service offers a variety of online services, such as purchasing stamps, arranging a free package pickup, and printing postage and shipping labels. Visit www.usps.com/.

FedEx offers online tools for finding a FedEx location, getting a rate quote, calculating a delivery time for a shipment, tracking a shipment and other tasks. Visit www.fedex.com/us/.

UPS offers ways to print shipping labels, track shipments and find UPS locations. Visit / www.ups.com/.

EXTENDED HOURS

To accommodate holiday shippers, the main Hillsborough County post office at 5201 W. Spruce St., near Tampa International Airport, will remain open until 1 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays leading up to Christmas. Some other post offices in Hillsborough County also will extend hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ehrlich Branch, 14910 N. Dale Mabry Highway: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

New Tampa Station, 18350 Bruce B Downs Blvd.: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Interbay Station, 4520 Oakellar Ave.: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Town 'N Country Branch, 7521 Paula Drive: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Carrollwood Branch, 12651 N. Dale Mabry Highway: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Forest Hills Station, 11800 N. Florida Ave.: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Temple Terrace Branch, 8862 N. 56th St.: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 16

Falkenburg Branch, 10121 Adamo Drive: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 22

PACKAGING TIPS

•Ship on the earliest date possible.

•Use a large enough box to add adequate padding around items.

•Make sure boxes do not have old labels on them and are free of holes, tears and dents.

•Use packing tape - not duct or masking tape.

•Don't wrap outside with paper or string, which might get caught in automated machines.

•Put a label with delivery and return address information on the largest surface of the package.

•Before sealing, place a duplicate label inside the package in case the outside label becomes illegible during shipping.

Source: U.S. Postal Service, UPS and FedEx

Reporter Jason Geary can be reached at (813) 865-1505 or jgeary@tampatrib.com.

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