Probably 20-30 trucks parked along Pittsburgh Avenue this evening south of Cleveland's main post office. Why? pic.twitter.com/ZJ0im7y0ez

— Ken Prendergast (@KennyPeepers) December 5, 2020

Pictures of a couple dozen semi-trucks backed up for more than 12 hours waiting to deliver packages, complaints on Reddit, anecdotal stories, frustrated and curt statements issued to the press... things do not appear to be moving efficiently at the Cleveland USPS distribution center, and there are a few reasons for that.

It is not only peak season for the postal carrier but peak season during a year when there's peak online shopping, and it's not only peak season during a peak online shopping year but peak season during a peak online shopping year during the peak of a coronavirus surge.



Which is all to say that there are many, many frustrated people out there experiencing delays that trace back to the downtown distribution center right now.

Will it actually arrive by Dec 25th 2020 or will it magically get “lost” and possibly arrive by Dec 25th 2021 🤷🏼‍♀️ asking for a friend, AKA my package that has been sitting for over two weeks. Can I just know what post office, I’ll pick it up pic.twitter.com/lnpFaBnNuv

— Teresa (@darkshadows216) December 8, 2020

Seriously @USPSHelp @USPS, my package has been sitting "In Transit" for 6 days now at the Cleveland Regional facility. It should've been delivered by last Saturday. Help!

— Stephanie Jackson (@sjojackson) December 9, 2020

There are many more like that but we'll add only one more example: It recently took 11 days for a copy of Scene mailed from downtown to arrive in Beachwood.

This is a byproduct of the circumstances described above coalescing into a sludge which has trapped mail and packages as positive Covid tests and contact tracing have led many employees to quarantine and thus away from work.

In response to media inquiries, a USPS spokesperson said: "This has been an extraordinary year of unprecedented challenges. The Postal Service is experiencing significant volume increases, while at the same time employee availability has been reduced due to the impacts of COVID-19. We are flexing our resources to process and deliver the mail as quickly as possible. We are committed to making sure gifts and cards are delivered on time to celebrate the holidays. Customers needing assistance are encouraged to contact the USPS Customer Care Center at 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777)."

If you're looking to have something arrive by Christmas, the post office recommends getting it into the mail by Dec. 15, but judging by what's going on, you're going to want to add a day or five to the timeline to be safe.