Switch in Saturday mail processing won't affect service, postal service says
By Nick Hytrek Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
A change in where local mail is sorted on Saturdays shouldn't affect how long it takes items to get from Point A to Point B, a Postal Service official said.
Beginning in two or three weeks, mail no longer will be sorted on Saturdays at Sioux City's Mail Processing Center. Instead, mail will be transported to Sioux Falls for processing.
Postal patrons won't notice any differences in mail pickup or delivery, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins said.
"It's not going to have any effect on services," he said.
Items mailed locally on Saturdays now will have a Sioux Falls postmark instead of a Sioux City mark.
"That's the only change people will notice," Watkins said.
The change was made as postal officials continually study distribution and dispatch patterns searching for increased efficiency. Because the Sioux City center processes much less mail on Saturdays than it does on weekdays, postal officials realized transportation costs could by reduced by processing that mail out of the larger Sioux Falls center.
"Because we're not tax-supported, we have to make every penny count," Watkins said.
The Sioux City center processes an average of approximately 750,000 pieces of mail daily Monday-Friday. It handles an average of approximately 425,000 pieces on Saturdays.
The change will not result in any layoffs at the Sioux City center. Sioux City postmaster Virginia Rohrback said pickup times at Sioux City postal stations and mailboxes wouldn't change. The drop-off time at the mailboxes outside the center, 2901 Murphy Drive, may be moved up, however.
Watkins said there are no plans to eventually transport mail to Sioux Falls for processing on other days or close the Sioux City facility, which processes mail from Northwest Iowa communities that have ZIP codes beginning with the numbers 510, 511, 512, 513 and 514.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Beginning in two or three weeks, mail no longer will be sorted on Saturdays at Sioux City's Mail Processing Center. Instead, mail will be transported to Sioux Falls for processing.
Postal patrons won't notice any differences in mail pickup or delivery, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins said.
"It's not going to have any effect on services," he said.
Items mailed locally on Saturdays now will have a Sioux Falls postmark instead of a Sioux City mark.
"That's the only change people will notice," Watkins said.
The change was made as postal officials continually study distribution and dispatch patterns searching for increased efficiency. Because the Sioux City center processes much less mail on Saturdays than it does on weekdays, postal officials realized transportation costs could by reduced by processing that mail out of the larger Sioux Falls center.
"Because we're not tax-supported, we have to make every penny count," Watkins said.
The Sioux City center processes an average of approximately 750,000 pieces of mail daily Monday-Friday. It handles an average of approximately 425,000 pieces on Saturdays.
The change will not result in any layoffs at the Sioux City center. Sioux City postmaster Virginia Rohrback said pickup times at Sioux City postal stations and mailboxes wouldn't change. The drop-off time at the mailboxes outside the center, 2901 Murphy Drive, may be moved up, however.
Watkins said there are no plans to eventually transport mail to Sioux Falls for processing on other days or close the Sioux City facility, which processes mail from Northwest Iowa communities that have ZIP codes beginning with the numbers 510, 511, 512, 513 and 514.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
