By Noah Logan

USPS Installs State-of-the-Art Sorting Machine in Huntsville Facility

By Noah Logan / Photo courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service

Last year, the U.S. Postal Service endured a mountain of criticism, particularly around the holiday season.

Slow deliveries. Non-deliveries. Packages lost. Mail delivered to wrong addresses.

Much of the problem, obviously, was pandemic-related. Staffing was compromised due to employees being sick or staying home due to fears of catching COVID-19 in the workplace. And the mail volume increased as people shifted to online shopping instead of in-person shopping.

To help alleviate a repeat of last year’s troubles, the Huntsville USPS Processing and Distributing facility includes one of the country’s first new package sorting machines to greatly increase efficiency and volume.

“Last year, we were caught off guard as was everyone,” said Postal Service spokesman David Walton. “But this year we are making changes and improvements across the board to provide better service.

“And we’re already seeing some early results.”

The Automated Delivery Unit Sorter, which has been in operation here since June 27, processes up to 4,500 packages per hour and is 12 times faster than the previous manual sorting system. The Huntsville ADUS is one of three installed nationwide but 118 will be in operation by November in time for the busy holiday season.

Walton said the new machines are a part of a comprehensive, 10-year plan called “Delivery for America.” The plan includes $40 billion in investments such as new package sorters and facilities that will modernize and improve the Postal Service’s infrastructure. In addition to this, an additional 46 annex facilities are being leased within 5 miles of regular facilities across the country to accommodate holiday surges and overflow of packages. As the plans for “Delivery for America” are implemented, the Postal Service has set a goal to meet or exceed 95% on-time delivery across all mail and shipping product classes.

This plan comes a year after the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented surge in online shopping and culminated with a historic volume of packages for the 2020 holiday season.

During last year’s holiday season, USPS delivered a record 1.1 billion packages despite employee shortages caused by the pandemic. The Huntsville facility processed more than 250,000 packages alone.

The Postal Service its service performance numbers in the second quarter of this year increased in numerous categories as first-class mail marketing mail and periodicals were all delivered on time at least 6% more often than the first quarter of the year.

Although the ADUS system is replacing manual sorting at the Huntsville facility, no employees at the facility (or any facility across the country) will lose their jobs because of the new machine.

Katrina Pleasant, a Huntsville postal worker since 2016, said the new machine has made her workday more productive while also lightening the load labor wise.

“Before, we had to manually retrieve all the boxes and sort them into the different bins for each city and each route,” she said. “Now that we have the machine, everything is automatic and we can do over 30,000 packages a day.

“We don’t have to do any overtime or 12-hour days anymore. It’s much easier and faster now.” u

Post-Pandemic Back-to-School Shopping Returns to Pre-Pandemic Days

By Kimberly Ballard / Photo by Steve Babin

August has always been that transitional month when summer – but not the heat – winds down and families must once again readjust their schedules to accommodate “Back to School”.

Based on consumer surveys, the National Retail Federation had projected that parents with students in elementary school through high school would spend an average $789.49 per family in 2020, topping the previous record of $696.70 in 2019.

College students and their families were projected to spend an average $1,059.20 per family, which would also top 2019’s record of $976.78.

At first glance, it would appear a worldwide pandemic would have threatened the very existence of backto-school shopping in 2020. But on the contrary, the NRF discovered that amid the uncertainty, 55 percent of shoppers surveyed said that despite only 26 percent of classes were likely to be taught in-person, parents would still spend to accommodate at-home learning.

The survey found 36 percent bought laptops; 22 percent purchased computer speakers and headphones; 21 percent bought other accessories like a mouse or flash drive; and 17 percent bought printers.

An additional 17 percent bought non-computer items including calculators, office-type furniture like a desk and chair, and workbooks.

In other words, sales continued to rise as students and their parents simply adjusted to at-home learning.

And in 2021, according to RetailDive, back-to-school shoppers plan to spend $268 per child this year, an uptick of 9 percent from last year.

Spending for preschool is projected to be up by 32 percent in 2021 and college student spending is expected to be up 13 percent with middle school and high school spending up a combined 7 percent.

On the parent-student side, footwear (21%), school supplies (16%) and clothing (14%) lead the pack, as the likelihood of buying computers and study-related furniture are expected to decline.

None of this surprises Wilson McClellan, owner of Schoolcraft here in Huntsville. He has a 10,000 squarefoot showroom off Church Street and has been in the school supply business here for 45 years.

“We just stepped back during the pandemic and watched for a while,” said McClellan. “We sell mostly to teachers through the schools, and some parents, especially homeschoolers, but teachers didn’t know what to do or how to do it last year. They had never been faced with the types of teaching situations where some kids were doing full virtual learning, some were in class two days a week, some three days a week.

“So, while sales were off about 20 percent last year, we survived when a couple of competitors did not.”

This year is a different story with back-to-school sales returning to preCOVID levels, he said.

“Teachers come in and they are happy and upbeat. I see no negativity at all about getting back to their classrooms,” he said. “They sometimes come in groups and their focus seems to be welcoming their students back to happy, colorful classrooms with bright colors and trim and borders on bulletin boards. That is a huge part of our business right now.”

Neither has Up A Creek Indoor Family Adventures in Hampton Cove. They did not shut down last year, according to new owners Chaz and Jordan Rogers. And they are planning a grand opening Aug. 4 in the newly renovated Hughes Plaza in Madison.

“I was a stay-at-home mom and when the opportunity presented itself to provide a fun indoor adventure space where kids can explore and play, I saw it as the perfect way to get my career life back in swing,” said Jordan Rogers.

Chaz’s mother, Jennifer Rogers retired from teaching school to become the program director.

Up a Creek offers After School programs, private party rentals, and summer day camps. Their afterschool care program provides pick-up transportation to their facility from all the Hampton Cove and Madison schools, and they provide field trips to local parks and playgrounds.

One of Madison County’s most comprehensive sources for back-toschool activities and community events for kids and families can be found at www.rocketcitymom.com.

The Back-to-School Resource Guide provides “All Things Educational” from school spotlights and event calendars to information about homeschooling, magnet schools, and private schools.

They also offer a Virtual Expo with information about schools, camps, tutors, athletics, and more. u