SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Processing and Distribution Center is filled with hundreds of employees working nonstop to get packages to their destination on time.
Executive Plant Manager Kim Calderon said about 900 employees work at the facility. She said they handle about ten to 15 million pieces of mail per day.
"We are just really focused on really trying to get all the mail moved to the right place, at the right time," she said.
Manuel Castillo has worked with USPS for two years. He works in the mail processing area. He said right now it is a rush.
"With the amount of volume we get this is pretty much our Super Bowl," he said.
Calderon said they're in the thick of the holiday rush.
"We want to treat each package if it was our own coming to us," she said.
The mail and packages, at the facility, are shipped across the United States and even overseas for service members.
"Peak season usually starts in November, but this year for us it started really early," Castillo said. "It has been a heavy flow since then, nonstop."
It is a process and things can go wrong. Calderon said they prepared.
"We have contingencies this time of the year," she said. "So, we plan very closely for those contingencies throughout the entire year. So, we are pretty much ready for any event."
The best advice is plan ahead if possible.
2024 Holiday Mailing & Shipping Dates for Items Sent to Address in the U.S. (Lower 48 States)
-USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec 18
-First-Class Mail service: Dec 18
-Priority Mail service: Dec 19
-Priority Mail Express service: Dec 21