With online shopping booming since the pandemic, postal delivery routes are now overwhelmed with thousands of large and small parcels.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, a NZ Post spokesperson says the average weekly deliveries for North Canterbury had increased to around 20,500 items.
‘‘It is an increase of 52 per cent on normal weekly volumes," she said.
‘‘Following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, these volumes lifted it to 21,746 items."
Over the peak period - October 24 to December 24 - she says NZ Post will deliver more than 160,000 items of mail and packages into the Christchurch North region.
‘‘We are chocka,’’ said rural delivery contractor Jeff Pawsey, of Rangiora.
‘‘The numbers we're delivering today are well up on last year and it's just getting bigger each year.’’
Fellow contractor Pam Bint says they are having to make extra trips in the evenings now just to make space in their vans for the following day’s deliveries.
In Rangiora, Pam Bint runs NZ Post Rural Delivery route RD 7 Rangiora, which includes Ashley and Sefton, a route she has managed for the past 12 years.
Her partner Jeff Pawsey has looked after RD 1 Rangiora, which includes Fernside and Cust, for 16 years. Jeff is a former pastry baker, while Pam has worked for NZ Post in a variety of roles for over 30 years.
Pam said she and Jeff are already putting in the long hours starting around midnight each day.
‘‘It takes that long just to sort the mail coming in on three large truck and trailer units overnight,’’ Jeff said.
The couple are on the road for 10 hours a day, and the increased loads are now making them plan their delivery schedules very carefully.
‘‘As long as we take our breaks, all our customers will get their packages on time, but this year the demand is much bigger despite the economic forecast,’’ said Pam.
And the loads don’t get any easier.
Jeff says they will be just as busy immediately after Christmas delivering all the late overseas Christmas mail that didn’t quite make the big day.
NZ Post delivery volumes have been more than 400,000 items daily nationwide, with recent weekly volumes topping 1.99 million items.
The highest delivery week in December so far was two weeks ago when 2.15 million packages were delivered nationally.
