If you are having issues with your carriers, the best option is to leverage your local contacts, such as your local Post Office, or delivery hubs. If you do not have a current or active relationship with your local shipping hub, the best place to start is with a phone call to a manager at the hub to talk about your campus’s delivery needs and restrictions. At times it can be challenging to find contact info for the local hubs. Some customers have had success calling a local retail store and asking for the phone numbers. Delivery drivers are also often willing to provide contact information for their supervisor or manager.

You can find a summary below of what the three major carriers are saying regarding how this pandemic is affecting service on a national level.

The USPS has had minor operational impacts as of Monday, March 24th. However, they have a temporary suspension on guaranteed Priority Mail Express International destined for China and Hong Kong, due to airline cancellations. There also may be delays from European countries that have restricted airline travel. (1) Signatures are no longer required on all packages, employees will request the customer’s first initial and last name from a safe, appropriate distance, that they will then enter into the electronic scanner or hard copy items such as return receipts. (2)

UPS no longer require signatures on all packages, instead, they will collect the name of the consignee, if an adult signature is required by the shipper, their drivers will ask to view a government-issued identification for proof of age upon delivery. In the U.S., there may be some delivery delays in states that have issued restrictions, such as a shelter in place order. (3) In Canada, there could be up to a 90-minute delay on air services and longer delays on services to Edmonton and select areas of Atlantic Canada. (4)

FedEx is temporarily suspending signature requirements for most deliveries in the U.S. (5) Currently, FedEx is not reporting delivery delays or issues. However, there have been multiple, unconfirmed, customer reports of delays and delivery failure, with packages being returned.

1. https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/
2. https://about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/usps-statement-on-coronavirus.htm
3. https://www.ups.com/ca/en/service-alerts.page
4. https://www.ups.com/cn/en/service-alerts.page
5. https://www.fedex.com/en-us/coronavirus.html

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