U.S. Postal Service bracing for 15.5 billion pieces of holiday mail

Keep your eyes on your porch Dec. 21 — that's when the U.S. Postal Service expects to deliver more than 30 million packages, the busiest delivery day predicted for the holiday season.

The rise in online shopping has package companies bracing for record shipments during the holidays, including the Postal Service, which expects to handle 15.5 billion pieces of holiday mail this year, the agency said Thursday.

The Postal Service is hiring 30,000 seasonal workers to handle the overload of mailings, which includes holiday cards and packages. It will also start delivering seven days a week for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. The agency expects to deliver 600 million packages alone between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, a 10.5% increase over the same period last year.

FedEx also expects a record number of holiday shipments between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, up 12.4% from last year.

Ship early: FedEx predicts record package volume during holidays