PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Inside metro Detroit's largest United States Postal Service facility, everywhere you look, there’s work nonstop. Conveyor belts above, sorting machines below, thousands of packages and millions of letters move through the Michigan Metroplex every day.
Each item has a special meaning to someone.
“We know how important these gifts are. These important documents, these different things people order for their family, for their loved ones, for themselves,” said Christopher Oxie, senior manager of Processing Support at the Michigan Metroplex.
The Metroplex in Pontiac is a 1-million-square-foot facility and is one of the largest USPS facilities in the country. It's running at full capacity 24/7 with less than two weeks until Christmas.
“We might process, let's say between 60,000 and 100,000 (packages) on a given day," Oxie said. "These days, were doing between 200,000 to 270,000 every day in this building alone.”
That huge increase is expected every December, with more than half a million packages per day being sorted and shipping in metro Detroit.
Whether it’s end-of-year business mail or Christmas letters, the Metroplex handles more mail than any other facility in the country, going from roughly 3 million letters a day normally to about 5 million per day during December, not to mention 271,000 packages.
“December is the highest package volume month of the year for us by far," Oxie said. "With the new ground advantage we put in place this year, it’s been tremendous.”
Thanks in part to new technology, Oxie says the facility can handle the extra load as he and about 1,500 employees work collectively around the clock to make sure Christmas in metro Detroit runs as smoothly as it can.
“They (customers) entrusted us to get that mail to them, those packages to them as soon as we can," Oxie said. "We strive every day to get everything delivered on time.”
The USPS deadlines for Christmas delivery are:
- USPS Ground Advantage: Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail, including greeting cards: Dec. 16
- Priority Mail: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20
Related: 2023 Holiday shipping deadlines for USPS, FedEx and UPS
