The U.S. Postal Service believes it can effectively handle volume shifts sparked by its efforts to change how key shipping partners bring packages into its network, a claim which industry groups have pushed back against.
In recent months, the Postal Service has pressured consolidators like Pitney Bowes and DHL eCommerce, which handle and send customers’ parcels to the agency’s facilities for last-mile delivery, to inject Parcel Select volume into its network earlier in the shipping process. Experts have flagged delivery delays as a potential downside to the shift.
The Postal Service said in a June 12 filing to the Postal Regulatory Commission that it doesn’t know the extent to which package volume will move further upstream; however, the agency said it is carefully assessing its capacity and ability to handle increased activity at impacted facilities. To help the agency evaluate capacity needs, potential Parcel Select customers provide projections of their expected volumes by rate category and entry facilities in contract negotiations.