There’s an answer for those wondering: How many pieces of mail are being handled by the Postal Service this holiday season?
The organization’s online counter is back and showcasing the number of letters, cards and packages that USPS has accepted since Nov. 21. It has already kept tabs on the results of two of the busiest shopping days of the season — Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
As of Dec. 6 at 12:01 p.m., EST, the number exceeded 4.47 billion.
USPS expects holiday customer traffic to increase beginning Dec. 5, with the season’s busiest period for mailing, shipping and deliveries occurring the week of Dec. 12.
The counter, which is continually updated, is a rolling estimate based on electronic documentation of mail and packages accepted and premailing notifications received by the Postal Service.
You can find the counter on the USPS Holiday Newsroom website, where two of the elves who appear on this year’s Holiday Elves stamps are shown supervising the counting.
The Holiday Newsroom is also a one-stop shop that offers shipping deadlines, fact sheets and other resources.