You might want to get those holiday cards in the mail soon…
First-Class letters did not have a good week last week, the week of November 29. By the old delivery standards, which is what we use for consistency, only 76.32% of First-Class letters were delivered on time. Eww. The worst performance for FC letters we’ve seen since we started doing this in May. Even by the easier new standards, only 82.53% were delivered on time. No matter how you measure it, it was a troubling week.
Other sizes and classes held their own. First-Class flats were on-time 89.87% of the time, a substantial improvement over the prior week’s abysmal performance.
Marketing Mail Letters were on time 96.55% of the time, a skosh better than the prior week. Again, against a much more generous standard. Marketing Mail flats were delivered on time 91.99% of the time, great news for catalog mailers, and there were a ton of catalogs at my house. Perhaps USPS was putting a focus on flats, given that ‘tis the season, and all that.
Average Intra-SCF delivery time was 2.19 days for Marketing Mail letters, 2.90 days for Marketing Mail flats. This was a moderate decline for letters, and another marked decline for flats. All in all, SCFs seem to be working, if with some stress. Looking at the best and worst below, they’re all a little slower.
Slowest SCFs for Intra-SCF delivery week of 11/29 (with at least 10,000 pieces):
· Southeastern, PA: 6.81 days
· Anaheim, CA: 6.04 days
· Asheville, NC: 4.72 days
The fastest:
· Van Nuys, CA: 1.46 days
· Las Vegas, NV: 1.52 days
· Mankato, MN: 1.56 days
A letter from California to Maryland, on average, took:
· First-Class: 3.81 days
· Marketing Mail: 6.45 days
It looks like a system under strain, but still holding together.
Chart of the Week:
National Performance for First-Class letter, June 2021 through December 4, 2021.
All figures based on qualified pieces tracked by SnailWorks. For more detailed information, subscribe to the SnailWorks newsletter.