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Package deal

Chicago station gets new sorting machine

Fort Dearborn retail associate Charlene Shaw takes a close look at the new small delivery unit sorter.

The Postal Service is continuing to install state-of-the-art package sorting machines, part of the Delivering for America plan to modernize the organization.

The small delivery unit sorter, also called an SDUS, can process 2,000 packages, weighing up to 30 pounds each, an hour.

These machines process packages 12 times faster than manual sorting, which had to be relied on to handle the significant package volume increases during the past few holiday seasons.

The latest facility to receive an SDUS: Fort Dearborn Station in Chicago. The sorter’s installation will help the organization expand capacity and processing to nearly 60 million packages every day this holiday season, compared with 53 million in 2021.

“This sorter is going to make a big difference in how we process packages and serve our customers,” said Choyia Ben, acting customer services manager.

The Postal Service has deployed 249 new package processing machines across the nation since January 2021, including 137 that have been installed this year.

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