Sacramento postal hub shows off big upgrade — but you still should ship by these dates
The United States Postal Service distribution center in West Sacramento is so vast, supervisors and maintenance workers traverse the floor on tricycles.
Automated vehicles that ferry bins between stations are named after robots and superheroes: “Iron Man.” “The Flash.” “R2-D2.” An employee scans a barcode, then a blue, forklift-sized vehicle carries packages to their intended stations.
Managers at the Sacramento Processing and Distribution Center are optimistic that new technology and additional sorting equipment, combined with large-scale seasonal staff hires, will keep operations smooth for the coming winter holidays, even amid global supply chain issues and system-wide changes to domestic delivery timing.
Over the summer, the Sacramento-area processing and distribution site installed a new “small parcel sorting system,” which plant manager Renée Jones-Cheney says will give operations a significant boost compared to 2020.
“We can sort at least 1 million more packages each week for the Sacramento area — whether they’re mailing them out to the world or coming in,” Jones-Cheney said this week during a media tour of the facility. “So it’s a huge increase over last year.”
The nearly one-million-square-foot hub has roughly 1,600 employees — close to 1,300 plant postal workers and more than 300 in maintenance — but looks to add as many as 1,000 more in advance of the holidays.
Career positions are also available, said Thomas J. Lewis, senior manager of distribution in Sacramento. And the Postal Service could always use more truck drivers, he said.
Changes at USPS prompt concerns, federal complaint
The U.S. Postal Service on Oct. 1 implemented nationwide changes to delivery times, which means cross-country mail could see delays of up to two days: Domestic first-class mail previously set to be delivered in three days or less may now be delivered in up to five days.
The service has also increased costs of domestic package shipments during the holiday season, which runs Oct. 3 to Dec. 26.
California is among 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, that filed a legal complaint last month claiming the Postal Service only shared portions of its plan for review by its oversight organization, the Postal Regulatory Commission, allegedly violating federal law by failing to submit its full 10-year plan.
In response, U.S. Postal Service officials say the complaint “has no legal or factual merit.”
The Postal Service now recommends that customers sending first-class cards and letters do so by Dec. 17, and priority mail packages by Dec. 18, to ensure they arrive in time for Christmas.
Nationwide, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing to hire an additional 40,000 additional employees for peak season.
It has also deployed at least 88 high-speed package sorters, like the one recently installed at the West Sacramento plant.
“We’ll be ready,” Lewis said.
Christmas mailing and shipping deadlines
▪ Dec. 9: Priority mail for overseas military
▪ Dec. 17: First-class cards and letters
▪ Dec. 18: Priority mail
▪ Dec. 23: Priority express mail
