USPS Shipments to the UK Could See Delays Due to Looming Postal Worker Strike

USPS shipments to the UK could see delays due to a planned strike action by British postal workers starting next week.

The union that represents about 115,000 UK postal workers has called for four days of strikes against Royal Mail, the US Postal Service’s postal partner (foreign postal operator) in the UK. 

Unlike UPS, FedEx, or DHL, which use their logistics network to transport packages, USPS relies on foreign postal operators to deliver packages within the destination country.

Initial transport to the UK should not be affected, and there is no indication currently that USPS would hold mail here in the US due to the forthcoming strike.

Typically, international USPS mail and packages go through one of the US Postal Services International Service Centers (ICS) here in the US, from where the US Postal Service dispatches worldwide.

There are five ISCs in the contiguous United States, and once mail leaves these centers, USPS has little control over the final journey.

Upon arrival at the destination country, international mail enters the country’s customs services, which may inspect the contents and assess any import duties payable by the recipient.

After leaving the customs agency, international mail enters the foreign postal operator’s domestic operations, where it is sorted and delivered.

Due to the union’s call for strikes against Royal Mail over the few weeks, all mail operations in the UK will likely be affected, including international mail delivery.

While the strike should not affect customs processing, it will almost certainly create a backlog of mail and packages at customs facilities.

And since all mail operations are affected by the strike, it may take a few days for Royal Mail to collect all customs cleared mail from the UK’s customs agency.

When Will This Royal Mail Strike Occur?

The good news about the strike is that the union called for four days of work stoppages but spread them over several weeks.

• Friday, August 26
• Wednesday, August 31
• Thursday, September 8
• Friday, September 9

This should minimize disruptions on Royal Mail as it won’t become overwhelmed with almost a week’s worth of mail that would take much longer to catch up.

The bad news is that the two sides are far apart in this labor dispute with no quick resolution in sight. And it appears the postal workers union is already planning further strikes later in September, possibly into October.

While the first strike action does involve one set of back-to-back days, it seems unlikely that would cause enough of a backlog at the UK’s customs agency to force USPS to halt mail shipments to the UK.

However, the first few days of the week of September 12 could see the most delays after two days of mail stuck in the system.

Unfortunately, with the prospect of another round of strike days to follow, the situation could worsen later in the year.

The union has not set any dates yet for a possible second round of strike days, typically subsequent strike actions become more disruptive in most labor disputes.

For now, US shippers should monitor any USPS shipments going to the UK for unusual activity such as a lengthy period of no tracking updates.

US online merchants and marketplace sellers may also want to advise UK customers that delays could occur on USPS shipments and offer alternative shipping options, especially if an order is time sensitive.

This strike will impact all USPS international mail services, including express services.

We will monitor the situation with Royal Mail over the coming days and weeks and update this post when new developments warrant it.

Also, check out our regularly updated post on USPS international service disruptions and suspensions, where we track potential delivery and service issues across the globe.

Connect With Us And Other Small Business Owners

Please head over to our Facebook Group for Small Business Sellers and interact with other small business owners.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay up to date with relevant news and business insights for your online business.