When shipping a package via USPS, some tracking alerts can be confusing. One of the most confusing is the “arrived at hub” alert, which usually refers to the USPS hub.
This is the point from which the package is sent to the final recipient to an office for final delivery. During the journey to delivery, the package may make several stops, but do not confuse this alert with others such as “out for delivery”.
What is a USPS hub?
The USPS has several regional facilities known as hubs. These facilities are responsible for managing the mail to get it to its destination and ready for the next delivery stop.
This means that the hub is like a post office for package delivery. At these locations, packages are picked up by trucks to be sent to their destination. The trucks are responsible for getting the packages to the distribution center for final delivery.
What is the meaning of arrived at the hub?
This tracking alert indicates that the package has arrived at a center where it will be delivered to the driver. The driver will then take it to your home, and the package will be delivered within a few days. In most cases, it is an alert indicating that the package has been received and that it will be assigned a route and driver.
Once the package is sent to the final delivery office, the “in transit office” alert will appear. These offices are where the package will be picked up for final delivery. This means that the package will be scanned for pickup.
How do shipments of online purchases through the USPS work?
This type of shipment is made in two different stages, which will be:
- Primary: this is a process that starts with the seller. The postal service will pick up the package after it is fully prepared. It will be put on a truck and taken to the local post office.
- Secondary: most U.S. cities have large trucks from post offices for transportation to a distribution center. In most cases, the regional hubs are a 4-hour drive away. However, the process can be expedited by decentralized USPS hubs waiting for items.
Before the package reaches its final destination, it may pass through numerous intermediary hubs. If “processing order” appears, this means that the process will be initiated for the purchase that has been made.
In cases where there are not too many orders, it is possible to receive the packages earlier than expected.
How soon will I receive my package after it shows as arrived at the hub?
There are many variables at play in these cases, such as the type of shipment selected, and the day it is shipped, among others. However, packages cannot be held for long in a warehouse. For this reason, postal operations are always aimed at making delivery as soon as possible to the final recipient.
This is done in order to keep everything flowing efficiently. For urgent shipments, delivery will most likely be made quickly. On the other hand, if shipments are low priority, they may arrive later.
Normally delivery times from the time the arrived at hub alert is received are 24 to 48 hours.
However, if it is a weekend, these times may be longer.
Can I pick my package up directly at the Hub?
When a package is in the arrived at hub state, it is not possible to pick it up. This is because these are facilities that are not open to the public. In addition, they are not staffed to meet the needs of customers to deliver packages.
Once the package leaves the hub, the next step is to get to the post office. This could be the point at which you could pick up your package unless the Out for Delivery notification appears. This is because this notification indicates that the package has been delivered to a USPS driver. In the latter case, it will no longer be possible to pick up the package and you will have to wait for delivery.
What to do if the tracking gets stuck in arrived at the hub?
If your shipment gets stuck at arrived at the hub, it is most likely due to some kind of problem. Most likely, it has been left at the hub due to high shipment volume and delays.
It can also be because there are technical problems, packages have been placed in the wrong place, among others. Regardless of the cause, ideally, the package should be delivered within 5 working days.
If this time elapses, you will need to contact customer service. To do so, you can call 1-800-2758777 and request information on the delay of your package.
What does it mean if the Arrived at Destination Hub alert appears?
This means that the package has arrived at the USPS hub in the destination city. In these cases, the package will be waiting to be delivered as soon as possible.
The only thing missing in these cases is the scanning process so that the package can continue on its way. When you receive this message, just be patient, because your package will be very close to being delivered.
Why did my package show as Out for delivery and then Arrived at Post Office?
These cases are rare, but it can happen that this alert appears in different cases. It usually indicates that the package has been returned to the USPS regional facility and may be due to the package being loaded on the wrong vehicle.
It may also be because the package has failed to be delivered in a secure manner. In these cases, there is no need to worry, because the package will be back on its way to you as soon as possible.
For years I have studied American finance regulations. All the information in this blog is sourced from official or contrasted sources from reliable sites.
Salesforce Certified SALES & SERVICE Cloud Consultant in February 2020, Salesforce Certified Administrator (ADM-201), and Master degree in “Business Analytics & Big Data Strategy” with more than 13 years of experience in IT consulting.