The Postal Service is running a pilot to deliver Amazon packages the same day they arrive at USPS in the early afternoon. Amazon drops the packages between noon and 1 p.m. Clerks sort them by hand, then city carriers deliver them between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The pilot began in late September at sorting and delivery centers in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Each site is capped at 200 packages and uses three delivery routes.
The pilot will expand to the Columbia, South Carolina, sorting and delivery center on Oct. 20, with a cap of 500 packages and five routes.
The afternoon load is in addition to Amazon’s usual morning drop at USPS. “Orders placed later in the day would now be eligible for same day delivery through this pilot,” Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark told Supply Chain Dive. “The process is the same otherwise.” Amazon also launched its own one-hour and three-hour delivery options this year.
Amazon says it has spent more than $5 billion with USPS in recent years. The companies reached a scaled-back shipping agreement earlier this year. Amazon’s internal plans reportedly call for USPS to handle 10% of its US packages in 2027 and 8% in 2029. Amazon described the projections as “preliminary, subject to significant revision.”
