PROVIDENCE – Deliveries in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are slower than they were a year ago, according to data from the
United States Postal Service.
For first-class mail expected to arrive in three to five days, deliveries were on time only 66.7% of the time in the second quarter, down from 84.9% last year.
This gives Rhode Island and Massachusetts one of the worst three-to-five-day delivery rates in the country, below the national average of 69.9% and USPS’s target of 90.28%.
The best USPS district for three-to-five-day mail was Alaska, with 85.4% of packages being delivered on time. The worst: Kansas and Missouri, with 51.4%.
Two-day mail, while fairing better, is still lagging behind last year’s numbers. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, two-day packages were delivered on time 84.2% of the time in the second quarter compared with 89.9% last year.
That number is still behind the national average of 86.8%, leaving Rhode Island and Massachusetts 10th worst on-time percentage in the country. Four California districts made up the top four, all above 93%. Georgia was the worst state with 63.7% of two-day packages being delivered on time.
Rhode Island used to be in a USPS district with Connecticut and western Massachusetts, named the Connecticut Valley district, before shifting to the current Rhode Island-Massachusetts district in 2023.
In the second quarter of 2019, three-day mail was on time 78.1% of the time in the Connecticut Valley district, and two-day mail had an on-time percentage of 92.8%. Consumers nationwide also saw a decrease in on-time deliveries after the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Providence is home to a regional sorting hub on Corliss Street, the state has been plagued with transportation challenges in recent months, most notably the westbound Washington Bridge closure, potentially impacting deliveries and businesses in the area.