Times Observer photos by Brian Ferry Pictured is the post office in Warren. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to higher volumes of shipping.

As it was for individuals, 2020 was an exceptional year for the U.S. Postal Service.

The coronavirus led to higher volumes of shipping as many people ordered from the comfort and security of their homes items they might previously have purchased in stores.

Mail-in voting added millions of pieces of mail over a short period.

And, the pandemic has cut into the department’s workforce.

“The U.S. Postal Service, similar to the broader shipping sector, continues to face near-term pressure on service performance across categories as it manages through a historic record of holiday volume this season,” spokesperson Tad Kelley said Monday. “The Postal Service’s 644,000 employees remain focused on delivering for the nation.”

According to the USPS website, the department delivers 472 million pieces of mail a day.

There was a dramatic increase in voting by mail this year, adding 27 million ballots to the postal service’s responsibilities.

In addition to generating higher demand for shipping, the pandemic led to personnel shortages.

“Nationally and locally, we delivered a record amount of packages this holiday season in the midst of the pandemic which significantly impacted our workforce availability,” Kelley said.

“Capacity challenges with airlifts and trucking for moving this historic volume of mail also lead to temporary delays,” he said. “These challenges were felt by shippers across the board. We are accepting all volumes being presented to us, which adds to the challenge of the workload.”

The department has put in extra hours to catch and keep up.

“Our entire Operations team, from collections to processing to delivery, worked throughout this past weekend and continues to work around the clock to address the historic volume, which includes returns,” he said. “We are proud of the hard work and dedication of our employees, and will continue to work around the clock to deliver all packages and mail entered into our system, including returns.”

“We thank our customers for their continued support and understanding,” Kelley said.