HOUSTON, TX- Houston residents have been facing USPS shipping delays for almost two months.

The delays are from a backlog at the North Houston and Missouri City processing centers. Packages are taking an average of 15 – 18 days to wind their way through the system for delivery.

Poor planning around the installation of a parcel sorter, and staffing shortages resulting from the USPS yearly lay-off of seasonal workers are the primary reasons for the delay.

Old sorters were removed from the North Houston plant to make way for the new parcel sorter, only to discover the new equipment couldn’t fit. As a result, North Houston did not have the capacity to process parcels and the backlog began.

North Houston and Missouri City facilities are undergoing major changes as part of US Postmaster General DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan.

The plan is to create new facility types called Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDC) and Local Processing Centers (LPC). TRPDCs are the hubs for long-distance travel. LPCs bridge RPDCs and the path to final delivery. The North Houston facility is in the process of becoming the North Houston Regional Processing and Distribution Center. The Missouri City facility has turned into the South Houston Local Processing Center.

The idea is to reduce transportation. Long haul transportation is run between 200+ facilities today. DeJoy wants to reduce that number to 60.

U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls sent the Postmaster General a letter last month demanding answers to the cause of the problems and when to expect a solution.

When will the issues be resolved? That answer is unknown. Most don’t believe that it is going to be a quick fix either.

We will keep you abreast of delivery issues and resolutions as they occur. In the interim, plan your campaign deliveries based on slower than normal delivery.