“Slower Than in the ’70s”: USPS Temporarily Suspends Deliveries to Australia

The temporary measure is a result of the pandemic and ‘other unrelated service disruptions’, the company said in a statement. “Customers: please refrain from mailing items addressed to the countries listed here until further notice,” the statement read.

“Due to COVID-19, international shipping has been suspended to many countries. According to DMM 604.9.2.3, customers are entitled to a full refund of their postage costs when service to the country of destination is suspended,” it continued.

Much like Australia, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is dealing with an overload of deliveries across the US, which has resulted in the slowing of deliveries. In fact, an expert in postal service and supply chain in the US, Paul Steidler, said that 40 percent of first-class will be “slower than in the 1970s”.

Now, USPS is temporarily halting some of the delivery services to Australia, and a further 22 countries, including New Zealand.

This is not the first time that the USPS has suspended a mail guarantee. In March 2020, suspensions were made for France, China, the UK, Spain, Sweden, Hong Kong and Switzerland. Then in August 2021, USPS suspended deliveries in Brunei, Vietnam and East Timor.

From October 1st, Airmail M-bags will be impacted, alongside International Priority Airmail (IPA) M-bags and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) M-bags.

Earlier in September, Priority Mail International, First-Class Package International Service, Commercial ePacket, International Priority Airmail (IPA) and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) Packets were suspended.

The packages that the International Service Centre has not processed will be marked as ‘Mail Service Suspended – Return to Sender’.

Australia Post has recently announced it would be temporarily pausing post parcel pickup from online retailers for five days, ending Wednesday, October 6th. “With parcel volumes at Christmas levels, our network continues to be under increased pressure and is amplified in Victoria where we continue to manage a heavily reduced workforce due to the impact of the Delta strain,” the postal service said. “The temporary pause will help manage the record volumes being experienced in the network and importantly return them to a level that is safe and manageable for our people. The safety of our people is our highest priority, one which we will not compromise on.”

The e-commerce landscape is changing. With a Power Retail Switched On membership, you get access to current e-commerce revenue and forecasting, traffic levels, average conversion rate, payment preferences and more! Sign up today and receive an Apple Watch Series 6 – Find out more here.