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Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: kingpinirl on May 15, 2012, 09:28 pm

Title: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: kingpinirl on May 15, 2012, 09:28 pm
Hey guys-

Do you think the US mail system keeps track of incoming packages of residents?  EG - House # 10231 main St has received 3 orders from Canada, 43 letters and 22 packages sent to the residence in April -

I'm just curious if this is how its setup.  Does anyone know if mail volume is tracked?
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: dman420 on May 16, 2012, 03:42 am
seems like as overwelmed and under-employed they are that would be such a mountain of a task i kinda doubt it. but i wouldnt be surprised if one day such a thing along with text messages, phone records, and social media shit would all be kept as a profiling method or sumshit as we are losing more n more privacy all day.

Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: Wazup7 on May 16, 2012, 03:53 am
I don't know definitively, one way or the other, but part of me thinks that they must keep some kind of records about the mail that goes through the system.  Probably not all mail, just packages that are trackable, even on the most minimal level.  I mean if I can log on, and track a parcel number online, then chances are the postal system isn't going to simply destroy that information. 

Now, granted, if the parcel is dropped into a mailbox (ie. anonymously), and it is shipped to a dead drop, then the information isn't very useful to LE or anyone.  But, if it's shipped from a residential addres, to a residential address, and that same pattern occurs multiple times, and the parcel was tracked each time, then it seems to me that if LE got wind that illegal items were being shipped in that pattern, then the records of those shipments would be meaningful to them.  That's why I don't think the post destroys the tracking information that they capture.

Again, this is complete speculation on my part.  They might track and save information on EVERY parcel, or destroy all of that information at the end of each day for all I know ;-).
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: Limetless on May 16, 2012, 03:57 am
Think about the around 200 billion bits of mail that goes into the U.S every year. Then think about the logistical nightmare it would be to keep track of every bit of mail. That will answer your question.

If you think about it if they could monitor and track every bit of mail in a database that went into the system then they could scan every bit of mail to and if they could do that SR wouldn't even be viable.

Question answered. :)
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: captainjojo on May 16, 2012, 04:24 am
Yup.  It is highly unlikely.  Just the amount of storage capacity they would need to track it all would probably bankrupt them (Oh, right, that's already happening).

Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: cacoethes on May 16, 2012, 09:03 pm
Think about the around 200 billion bits of mail that goes into the U.S every year. Then think about the logistical nightmare it would be to keep track of every bit of mail. That will answer your question.

If you think about it if they could monitor and track every bit of mail in a database that went into the system then they could scan every bit of mail to and if they could do that SR wouldn't even be viable.

Question answered. :)

Was gonna post something along these lines, but Limetless  beat me to it.

To break it down a little further, and add some perspective to the scale of the number 200,000,000,000:

That's 3,846,153,846 pieces of mail per week

549,450,549 per day

22,893,772 pieces of mail sorted per hour, by an understaffed and under-funded quasi-governmental agency...
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: kingpinirl on May 16, 2012, 10:15 pm
There are really 200 billion things mailed?  I'm not doubting you - I'm just curious if that number is inflated.  Just seems high, but I guess w/ 300M people here, it's gotta be somewhere up there. I wonder if that includes "Big 5" ad's and the bs val-pak coupons :)
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: dman420 on May 16, 2012, 10:22 pm
number of mail pieces would be had to know exactly as im sure it fluxuates alot and especially during holidays. and of all the people recieving mail, they get multiple pieces. think of all the endless junk mail sent around every day, and coupons and shit, n bills. i know personally most of my recycling bin is junk mail n bullshit coupons i dont have use for.
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: cacoethes on May 17, 2012, 01:17 am
There are really 200 billion things mailed?  I'm not doubting you - I'm just curious if that number is inflated.  Just seems high, but I guess w/ 300M people here, it's gotta be somewhere up there. I wonder if that includes "Big 5" ad's and the bs val-pak coupons :)

Hard to believe, isn't it?  According to the USPS, in 2007 it processed approximately 213 billion pieces of mail.  That number has declined recently  due to various forms of electronic communication, and fluctuates from year to year...  In 2011, it processed *only* 167.9 billion pieces of mail- reducing the number of pieces processed per hour to a mere 19,230,769- still an astoundingly huge number.

All handicaps considered, it is a remarkably efficient organization.

Interesting facts about the USPS:

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-facts/welcome.htm
http://www.nalc.org/postal/perform/productivity.html
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service
Title: Re: Does the US mail system keep track of packages
Post by: Limetless on May 17, 2012, 01:38 am
Yeah I mean think about it guys. U.S has a population of around 350mil yeah? Now the U.K is a 5th the size of Texas and has a population of about 70 mil and a much smaller space to cover and it would be impossible for them to monitor all mail. There is no system that could do it.

I mean Christ if I feel safe in the U.K....you Americans may as well put your slippers on and tuck yourselves up in bed lol.