‘Modernize’ Williamsport on USPS sorting and deliver center shortlist – Williamsport Sun-Gazette

The City of Williamsport has been eyed as a location for a new United States Postal Service Sorting and Delivery Center, and the impact it will have depends on which side of the coin or stamp one views these new modernized mail and package distribution facilities.

The USPS has been working to modernize its delivery network and one component of this initiative is combining and centralizing carrier operations in new and large S&DCs over the coming years, said Mark Lawrence, a USPS spokesman.

The model is expected to improve the transportation utilization by reducing time and the cost of transportation to facilities, and in cases of co-location, eliminating the need for transportation completely, he said.

Additionally, it will allow postal delivery routes to be revamped to make them more efficient and cost-effective, he said.

Furthermore, he said, this initiative will enable the postal service to utilize more battery electric vehicles, since more routes would be at the optimal length to make such vehicles operational feasible, and since the vehicle would be originating from facilities with enhanced electricity infrastructure to support the necessary charging stations.

For Williamsport, Hughesville, Jersey Shore, Lock Haven, Montgomery, Montoursville, Muncy, Turbotville and Watsontown service areas, a sorting and delivery center may be up and running as early as February or early spring, according to a post office document.

Attempts to find out a more precise time for opening from USPS or the AFL-CIO employee union representatives were not successful.

One of these facilities opened in November in Athens, Ga., as part of a nationwide rollout plan.

It is part of a 10-year Delivering for America plan by the USPS, Lawrence said.

We are currently evaluating more than 100 new locations nationwide driving by operational and financial modeling to best serve our customers, Lawrence said.

These centers will be optimized and configurable based on local market conditions with many sorting and delivery centers to be co-located in existing plants, he said.

The goal of this initiative is to make significant improvements to the delivery network to better service the American public and our business customers more efficiently and effectively, he said.

The creation of the sorting and delivery centers will not change the locations of the USPSs retail offices, including PO Box service (where applicable), and will enable the postal service to maintain reliable and efficient delivery services for all customers, Lawrence said.

This is expected to improve ability to appeal to both small and large shippers because it will enhance the services ability to reach a much broader range of businesses and consumers under the new USPS Connect suite of products, he said.

These larger centers will have better infrastructure and adequate space, docks, conveyors and material handling equipment to enable more efficient operations. These also will modernize and leverage current underutilized and vacant post facilities around the nation, he said.

But the Postal Times noted Congress and the Biden administration have been good to the Postal Service, with $10 billion in emergency pandemic relief, nearly $50 billion to fix issues caused by a retiree healthcare benefit mandate and $3 billion for electric vehicles.

The Postmaster General, meanwhile, has slowed down First Class mail and raised prices across the board, the Postal Times article stated.

The Postal Service will eventually reduce retail hours, close post offices and dispose of historic properties, the publication stated.

The Postmaster General has discussed eliminating 50,000 jobs, according to the article.

The letter carriers will move from the back of post offices to these Sorting & Delivery Centers, the publication said.

When asked about any job losses, the USPS declined to comment.

The Sun-Gazette also reached out to the National Association of Paper Carriers and the American Postal Workers Union and did not receive comment.

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'Modernize' Williamsport on USPS sorting and deliver center shortlist - Williamsport Sun-Gazette