UPS resumes partial Puerto Rico operations, in face of extensive infrastructure damage

UPS service has resumed across 149 of Puerto Rico’s 176 zip codes, with the Atlanta-based integrator offering discounted rates from the U.S. to Puerto Rico and affected Caribbean destinations for select ground and deferred shipments. But with more extensive damage being reported daily, UPS is acknowledging that it faces massive hurdles redeploying its services to the stricken island.

UPS Americas Region president, Romaine Seguin described the situation in Puerto Rico as “dynamic,” noting that “power outages, impassable roads, and damaged communications infrastructure are impacting our ability to operate normally.”

With so many of Puerto Rico’s residents living in alternative dwellings, UPS has opened special hold-for-package-pickup services at five of the company’s seven package centers in Puerto Rico. There’s also a strictly-enforced curfew to contend with. In San Juan, pick-up hours are from 8am to 6pm, Monday through Friday. In Arecibo, Bayamon, Caguas and Ponce, pick-up hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Resumed services certainly aren’t an indicator that the situation has returned to normal, with some government officials saying that full power and infrastructure could be up to a year away in more remote parts of the island. UPS said that shippers should “anticipate delayed service at this time, and the company’s time-in-transit commitments are temporarily suspended, due to the extensive damage to the island’s roads and other infrastructure.”

Additionally, many packages shipped prior to the hurricane are still in transit. UPS said that it was experiencing a backlog at its facilities throughout the island and on the mainland. “The company is implementing contingency plans, but expects continued challenges before returning operations to normal.”