Hawaii small business owners are watching packages pile up undelivered after the U.S. Postal Service quietly rerouted lightweight parcels bound for the islands from airplanes to cargo ships. One jewelry business owner reported a dozen orders still sitting undelivered weeks after they shipped, a sign of how fast the change is rippling through island retail just as the holiday shopping season approaches.
Effective October 1, USPS updated its published delivery expectations for Ground Advantage packages moving between the contiguous United States and noncontiguous destinations, extending standard delivery times to 10 days or more, according to Pacific Daily News
. The affected destinations include Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. The change marks a sharp departure from the nationwide 2-5 business day standard many mainland shippers still expect.
Behind the slowdown is an operational shift that routes Ground Advantage packages weighing under one pound primarily by surface transportation — parcels that previously used a mix of air and surface transportation. As reported by Pacific Business News, those lightweight packages are now aligned onto surface cargo vessels regardless of weight, a change from the First-Class Package Service that handled such parcels before Ground Advantage was created in 2023.
USPS Cites Safety and Price Stability
USPS Public Information Officer John Hyatt said routing noncontiguous Ground Advantage packages primarily by surface transportation simplifies product logistics and reduces the risk of hazardous materials, including lithium batteries, traveling on passenger aircraft, per the same Pacific Daily News account. Hyatt said the shift keeps package prices unchanged even as delivery windows stretch out.
Priority Mail windows were adjusted too. As of October 1, USPS set expected Priority Mail transit at 2 to 4 business days for Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 2 to 6 business days for Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Freely Associated States, according to Chit Chats. Priority Mail remains the primary air option for island shippers who need speed, but that reliability comes at a cost.
The Cost of Faster Shipping for Local Sellers
For Hawaii retailers, upgrading outgoing lightweight packages to Priority Mail carries a steep markup, the Pacific Business News report notes. The outlet also reported that a jewelry business owner had a dozen undelivered orders.
Logistics technology platform CXTMS has flagged a related risk: many online checkout systems still display default lower-48 delivery calendars that no longer reflect reality for island destinations. McKinsey research cited by CXTMS says 90% of U.S. consumers are likely to abandon online shopping carts when faced with high shipping costs for standard items. Whether platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce update their origin-destination logic before the holiday rush — or keep quoting unsuspecting mainland buyers 2-to-5-day windows that no longer exist for island orders — remains an open question.
A Holiday Deadline That Doesn't Match the New Reality
Despite extending standard Ground Advantage transit expectations to 10 days or more for offshore destinations, USPS has maintained a published recommended holiday shipping deadline of December 16 for Ground Advantage packages bound for Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. territories, according to The Conveyor. The December 16 date sits uneasily alongside the longer transit times now officially in effect.
The delivery overhaul also follows a string of rate increases that have already squeezed small business margins. A January commercial price hike raised Ground Advantage rates by 7.8% and Priority Mail by 6.6%, and an April proposal added a temporary 8% fuel surcharge across core package products running through January 2027, per ClickPost. USPS is also pursuing a broader network overhaul.
A Recurring Fight Over Island Mail Service
Hawaii Rep. Ed Case and colleagues have pressed USPS over delivery problems, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
For Hawaii merchants weighing Priority Mail's steep markup against longer Ground Advantage delivery windows, other shipping options may be worth considering heading into the holidays.
