When you are eagerly waiting for your package to arrive and suddenly you receive a notification stating that “your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way”. I know it’s quite annoying as USPS doesn’t bother to explain what’s the true status of the package.
I have done my research and came to know what are the exact reasons why a package gets the “Arrive later than Expected” status. If you too are facing the same issue then don’t worry, just continue to read the article and you will find all your answers.
What’s the Meaning of “Your Package Will Arrive Later Than Expected USPS”?
If you’ve got the notification that ‘your package will arrive later than expected’ then it means that due to some unforeseen circumstances, there will be a delay in the delivery of your package. The notification can last from a few days to up to a week until the issue gets resolved and the normal delivery operations of the USPS begin.
However, the notification doesn’t mean that your package has been stolen, lost, or misplaced it simply means that there will be a delay in the final delivery of your package.
Keep in mind, that this is an automatic update to keep you informed about the tracking status of your package and it only changes when a manual scanning happens at the sorting facility of USPS.
So, if you have received this status then don’t worry your package will make its way to your delivery address but you might have to wait for days or even weeks in worst-case scenarios.
Why does a Package get the “will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way” status?
Severe Weather Conditions
Adverse weather condition nearly makes it impossible to make deliveries on time which in turn becomes one of the prime reason why your Package get the “will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way” status.
Several of my packages have been delayed on account of severe weather conditions like heavy downpours or hailstorms that nearly halted all delivery operations for 2 days.
Heavy Backlogs
USPS processes millions of packages every single day, sometimes a heavy backlog can cause a slowdown in the sorting process which can easily lead the packages to arrive later than expected.
It usually happens at the time of some festival sale or holiday season when everyone wants to send gifts to their friends and family.
If you want to avoid that delay then you can either order your package in advance or if it’s not that important then try to get it after the peak season.
Remember, even if you have chosen the priority mail option chances are still there that it might take longer than expected to get it delivered.
Clearance Issue
If you’re expecting an international package then it first needs to get a customs clearance before making its way to your delivery address. In normal scenarios, it can take up to 24 to 48 hours to get a clearance but if the package is held for some suspicious reason then it can take up to a week.
So, make sure your package has all the necessary documentation with it so that the chances of it being held will be significantly lower.
Shortage of Staff
Sometimes shortage of working staff can also be the reason why your package gets “an arrival later than expected” update. At the peak of Covid 19, it was such a humongous issue that it had made its way to the national headlines. Due to strict COVID guidelines, all the tested-positive staff need to be quarantined, and utmost safety precautions need to be taken to make the deliveries possible.
However, the problem of working staff still exists today when a particular USPS facility experiences a heavy volume of packages. It generally happens at the time of the holiday season when everyone seems to be shopping online.
To tackle the issue, USPS sends the upcoming traffic to a nearby sorting facility so that they can borrow some time to clear the piled-up packages.
What To Do When Your Tracking Status Shows “Your Package will Arrive Later Than Expected” notification?
If your package’s status shows ‘will arrive later than expected’, then there is nothing to worry about. Your package is safe and secured with the USPS and will be delivered within a few working days as soon as the issue is resolved.
Have Some Patience: Wait for at least a few days after you get the notification, sometimes things get fixed on their own without doing anything. In the meantime, you can check the tracking status of your package regularly to know whether there is some new update or not.
Contact the USPS: If days have passed and you haven’t got any new update then You need to contact USPS customer care and let them know about your problem. Provide them with all the relevant information that can help them to provide accurate information about your package.
If you are expecting an urgent packet to get delivered through the priority mail option then you can ask for a refund as it has been delayed beyond its expected delivery date.