Most of our customers choose USPS delivery services so this information is focused on USPS domestic and
international shipping.
USPS international mail depends on in-country mail systems for final delivery. This means that not only
is it necessary for USPS to sort and transport mail to the destination country, final delivery also
depends on the local mail services which may have their own challenges related to COVID-19.
USPS international mail services physically deliver mail only as far as the
destination country. The in-country mail system is responsible for the "last leg" and final
delivery to the customer. Due to the nature of COVID-19 related delays and the
dependency on in-country mail systems, USPS information on potential mail disruptions is necessarily
general and cannot predict delivery times for any given shipment. The most up to date information
for any particular country can be seen on the
USPS service alerts page.
Visibility into delays is hampered more by the fact
that USPS does not provide tracking (for most countries) once a package is put into the local mail
services - tracking stops with the last USPS handling of the item. This often gives the impression of
a "lost" package when in fact it is delayed by the in-country mail services.
Much of the COVID-related delays (domestic and international) is due to the major reduction in
commercial air travel. Flights that usually carry USPS mail cargo are not flying, requiring USPS to
send mail by ground routes (domestic US) or by sea-cargo (international). International mail that gets
routed by sea-cargo will experience many weeks of delivery delay. Some of the sea-cargo shipments are
documented
here.
It is impossible to know if any specific shipment has been (or will be) routed by sea-cargo.
What to Expect with USPS International Shipments?
Our experience so far is that international shipments are not often lost, they are just very delayed. We
often get customers with packages presumed "lost" reporting delivery many weeks after expected delivery.
We
used to consider an international shipment "lost" if it was not delivered in 6
weeks. We have now extended that to 12 weeks.
FedEx Shipping - Expensive but Reliable
Since FedEx operates their own flights, logistics, and end-delivery systems they are not so much
affected by the reduction in commercial air flights. FedEx delivery to most major countries are
operating, although sometimes at reduced capacity. Current FedEx delays due to COVID-19 (domestic US
and international) is
described in
this FedEx document.
Country Specific Information
US Domestic Deliveries
US domestic First Class and Priority mail appear to be operating near normal with most deliveries
being completed in 2-4 days, occasionally we see a First Class package taking 6-10 days.
Canada
Deliveries to Canada are less affected by lack of air cargo space than most international
destinations. Since the vast majority of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border,
most orders to Canada experience some delays but appear to arrive in a reasonably timely manner.
While Canada Post is experiencing heavy parcel volume, just like the USPS, it does not have any major systemic mail disruptions.
Mexico
We have suspended shipments to Mexico due to lack of air transport within the country and closure
of many local post offices.
Europe
USPS has re-routed many mail shipments to sea-cargo routes resulting in many weeks of delay. Some of those
shipments, including affected countries, are
described here. It is not possible to know if a given package is being (or has been) sent by sea-cargo or the
more usual air routes.
Australia
Although we have no specific information on Australia shipment delays beyond that
described by USPS,
many of our Australian customers have reported significant delays in receiving orders, sometimes exceeding 10 weeks.
Other International Destinations
Delivery times are very unpredictable for most non-US destinations. The
USPS Service Alerts page
provides some information on most countries, but it is
fairly generic and cannot provide exact expected delivery times.