USPS Time-in-Transit Data

The following charts depict USPS delivery trends for the past year, including findings on percent of delayed packages, average transit times, and length of delays by popular service levels.
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Table of Contents

Percentage of Packages Delayed by Service Level

Let’s answer the question: of the labels (a.k.a. packages) that were purchased in a given week, what percentage of those were delivered after their originally-estimated delivery date?

The table and chart show the average of these percentages for all of the packages shipped out in the week.

In the chart, the x-axis indicates the week of the label purchased date and the y-axis is the percentage delayed.

Few Delays
Moderate Delays
Heavy Delays
Percentage of Packages Delayed by Week
Week Of USPS FCPS USPS PM
10/18/21 5% 5%
10/25/21 5% 4%
11/01/21 5% 4%
11/08/21 5% 4%
11/15/21 7% 6%
11/22/21 8% 7%
11/29/21 13% 15%
12/06/21 8% 11%

Percentage of Packages Delayed Each Week

Average Transit Time by ServiceLevel

Here is the average transit time for all packages traveling via popular USPS service levels for the past year.

The table and chart show average transit times for all labels (a.k.a. packages) created in a given week.

In the chart, the x-axis indicates the week of the label purchased date and the y-axis is the average transit time (in days).

Weekly Average Transit Times (in Days)
Week Of USPS FCPS USPS PM
10/18/21 2 2
10/25/21 2 2
11/01/21 2 2
11/08/21 3 2
11/15/21 3 2
11/22/21 3 2
11/29/21 3 2
12/06/21 3 2

Average Transit Time

When Delayed, Average Number of Days Delayed by Service Level

Finally, we answer the question: of the delayed packages, how many days were they delayed on average?

The table and chart show the average number of days delayed for all packages in a given week.

In the chart, the x-axis is the week of the label purchased date and y-axis is average number of days.

Avg. Number of Days Delayed
Week Of USPS FCPS USPS PM
10/18/21 2.14 2.11
10/25/21 2.16 2.11
11/01/21 2.24 2.2
11/08/21 2.29 2.09
11/15/21 2.39 2.3
11/22/21 2.34 2.17
11/29/21 2.12 2.12
12/06/21 1.56 1.65

Average Number of Days Delayed

Methodology

Shippo’s technology helps more than 70,000 small and medium-sized businesses ship their packages with the USPS, UPS, FedEx, and 55 other carriers. The analysis reflects aggregate USPS data from all of our users.

Definitions

Average number of days delayed: the average number of days late a package is delivered after its originally-scheduled delivery date.

Average transit time: the average number of days it takes a package to be delivered, from the moment it is scanned into the mailstream or carrier network to the final destination scan.

Percent of deliveries delayed: the percentage of overall packages delivered after their originally-scheduled delivery date.

Service level: the carrier-branded shipping service that the sender selected for the package. Upon label purchase, the carriers will offer an expected delivery date. The delivery dates range as follows:

  • USPS Priority Mail (USPS PM) supports packages weighing 1 – 70 pounds and traveling within the U.S. Delivery dates range from 1-3 business days. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee.
  • USPS First Class Package Service (USPS FCPS) supports packages weighing less than 1 pound and traveling within the U.S. Delivery dates range from 1-3 business days. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I READ THE CHARTS?

Each line represents a specific carrier/service level (i.e. USPS Priority Mail is shown in the Postal Service’s signature red color). If you want to look at one carrier/service level in isolation, click on the other boxes at the top of the chart to hide their respective lines on the graph.

WHY IS MORE RECENT DATA MISSING?

Our graphs do not include delivery data for the last two weeks, because more recent shipment data is skewed due to shipments that are still in-transit.

If we were to look at transit times and delays, for example, the data would be biased because we would only be analyzing the fastest-delivered packages and omitting those that are still in transit.

HOW DO I SHIP WITH USPS?

Shippo gives you direct access to deep discounts from USPS, UPS, FedEx*, and DHL of up to 62% off retail rates.

For every package you need to ship, Shippo makes it easy for you to compare rates and ETAs from all the carriers to make sure you get the absolute best option every time.

If you create a Shippo account, completely for free, you’ll be able to compare all carriers within our application.

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HOW CAN I FIND OUT THE STATUS OF MY PACKAGE?

For packages currently in transit, visit the USPS website for up-to-date tracking information. If you have questions or need help communicating with the carriers about packages in transit or delayed, reach out to our support team at support@goshippo.com or +1 (855) 779-5767. While we can’t guarantee changes will happen, we can work with our carrier partners to get as much information as we can.

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