Small postal parcels from Germany to the US via ocean freight
Many of our customers were noticing unusually long delivery times for shipments from Germany to the USA at the end of 2020. One reason was that Deutsche Post was transporting some shipments to the USA by ocean freight due to severely reduced transport capacity.
Small Parcels to the USA Were Significantly Delayed
Deutsche Post had announced that transport capacities to the USA were considerably reduced. Special measures were therefore necessary to maintain mail and parcel services.
From September 15, 2020, some shipments to the USA were being transported by ocean freight until further notice. Deutsche Post stated that this could result in transit times of at least 25 to 30 days. Destinations in the western United States and remote areas could take considerably longer.
However, these expected transit times were not being reached during the Christmas season. In reality, some customers had already been waiting for their parcels since the end of October 2020.
This situation was particularly frustrating because inquiries concerning small parcels could only be initiated after a considerably longer waiting period. At that time, there was no predictable timeframe for a quick resolution.
Additional Delays in the USA
The situation was also difficult on the US side. USPS was dealing with an unprecedented increase in parcel volumes and limited employee availability because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
USPS was asking customers for patience while working through the unusually high volume of mail and parcels.
Looking Ahead to January 2021
We hoped that the situation would improve in early January 2021 and that customers would soon receive their delayed parcels.
At the same time, we were working on possible solutions with other carriers to reduce the impact of these transportation disruptions.
We thanked our loyal customers for their patience and understanding during this exceptionally difficult period.
Historical sources: Deutsche Post information on COVID-19-related shipping restrictions and USPS information concerning COVID-19 service disruptions, as referenced in the original December 2020 article.
