What does Arrived at Hub USPS mean? (Most Detailed Answer)

If you are reading this right now, chances are that you got this notification “arrived at hub” usps when using the usps shipping service.

Now you are confused and don’t clearly understand exactly what that means.

Sometimes this can be quite frustrating especially when you are expecting your parcel to arrive as soon as possible only to get loads of different notifications along the way without understanding exactly what they mean.

If that is your situation then don’t worry because in this article we will cover all there is to know about that subject.

What is a USPS Hub?

A USPS Hub is a central distribution or postal sorting facility that is responsible for transporting mail to other smaller postal facilities that it services.

Hubs are centralized locations where large quantities of mail are routinely dropped off from all over the globe.

The job of these sorting facilities is to unload pallets of mail, scan packages, and sort them by where they are going.

So, their main job is to get this huge amount of junk mail, scan it, and send it to the post offices that are closest to the recipients.

For example, a parcel that is shipped from Canada to the United States may have to pass through 2 to 5 hubs before it finally reaches the recipient.

We have so many postal distribution centers, which are otherwise known as hubs.

An example of these postal distribution centers are:

Network Distribution Centers (NDCs), Area Distribution Centers (ADCs), or Sectional Center Facilities (SCFs), etc.

The networking of these regional distribution centers (simply known as hubs) makes it easy for USPS to deliver packages faster and safely to their recipients in a cost-effective way without misplacing or mixing up people’s packages.

What does Arrived At Hub USPS mean?

When your package status updates to “Arrived at Hub,” it simply signifies that it has been delivered to the closest USPS hub and is waiting to be forwarded to your local post office for final delivery.

This is just the standard message or notification you will get whenever you use USPS shipping and its tracking service.

So, whenever you see this message when tracking your package, it simply means that your parcel has arrived at the last hub or the last regional sorting facility. 

Thus, the only remaining step that is left in the delivery process is that your parcel is yet to be sent to the local post office in your area or region, which will carry out the final delivery to your doorstep.

And when it’s successfully sent out to your local post office, the tracking status will change to “Out For Delivery“.

At this point, your package is on its way to you by the bike-man or local delivery agent, who will probably bring it to your doorstep.

Graphical summary of What Arrived at Hub USPS means

From “Arrived at Hub” to Final Delivery

The picture above illustrates or summarises the whole process of what arrival at hub usps means.

When I get the “Arrived at Hub” message, how long will it take for me to get my parcel?

Typically, you will receive your parcel within 24–48 hours.

The whole process is geared towards getting your mail out of the facility in the next truck. There’s no big enough warehouse to store people’s packages, and any leftover packages make the job more difficult.

Usps Hubs get a lot of mail every day, so they do their best to unload all the mail, scan it, and send it to the right post offices for final delivery.

They don’t want to keep any mail behind, since there isn’t that much space to store people’s mail. So they try to distribute all the mail on the same day or the next day at most, so that they can have space to receive other incoming volumes of mail.

So when you see this message, in most cases, it means that you’ll receive your parcel within 24 to 48 hours.

Unless there’s a further delay by the local post office that your item was sent to for a final delivery,

Where Will My Parcel Go Next after Leaving the USPS Hub?

Whenever you get the tracking message “Arrived at Hub” from the USPS, it simply means that your parcel has arrived at the last distribution center that is nearest to you.

By implication, it means that there’s no other sorting facility left.

Therefore, when your parcel leaves the USPS hub, it will be sent to the local post office that is closest to your destination.

From there, the local post office will pass it onto the mail carrier to complete the final delivery. The local delivery man will pick it up and transport it to your doorstep.

Thus, the message “arrived at Hub” simply means that your package is close by and there’s absolutely nothing to be scared or worried about.

So, in a situation where the distribution center is not close to your destination (though it is often rare), it therefore means that it will be further sent to another sorting facility.

At this point, the tracking status will be updated to “in transit.”

The process continues until it gets to your closest destination; thereafter, it will be transported to the local post office nearest to you for a final delivery.

At this point, the tracking status will be updated to “out for delivery.”

USPS “Arrived at Hub” Can I go there and pick it up myself?

The simple answer to this is no, you can’t. 

The USPS Hub, or mail processing center, is a very busy place.

Most of the time, these staff are busy unloading mail from trucks, scanning it, and then delivering it to the right post offices in their area.

They handle all these processes in bulk, processing thousands of mailpieces using bar codes. They carry out these processes both mechanically and manually, so they won’t have time to attend to your needs over there.

Not only are these facilities closed to the public, but they’re also not set up for mail pickup.

Hence, don’t try going there to pick it up yourself, even if it’s very close by, because they won’t attend to you.

My tracking has been stuck on “Arrived at Hub” by USPS for days. What should I do?

Something is clearly wrong if your tracking status remains at “arrived at Hub” for more than three days.

At this point, it’s wise to contact USPS customer care via 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777). They’ll be able to give you more information concerning the situation of your goods.

It’s vital to realize that additional wait periods may occur when a large quantity of mail has to be sorted at the distribution facility.

Possible tracking messages you might see and what they mean:

Here is a rundown of the many types of updates you may expect to get from the United States Postal Service (USPS) from the time your package is accepted until it is delivered.

Acceptance:

When you get this tracking alert status, it simply means that your parcel has been received by the USPS. It’s usually at the very initial stage of the shipping process.

So when you see this notification, simply understand that your item is not close by yet or has not even started moving yet.

Processed Through Sort Facility:

This message just means that the sorting facility was able to package and scan your item into their system.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s close by; it only means that it’s ready to be sent out.

Usually, this often happens during the second stage of the delivery.

Departed From The USPS Facility:

This is usually the third stage of the delivery process. which means that your package has been successfully received, processed, and now it has left the distribution center.

Again, this does not necessarily mean that your item is close to you; it just means that it has successfully left the sorting facility and is now on its way to you.

However, there are still many other stages that might be involved before it finally gets to you.

In Transit:

This notification status simply means that your parcel is currently traveling.

There are two types of “in transit” notification.

1. In transit, “Arriving on time”
2. In transit, “arriving late”

When you get the “in transit arriving on time” message, it simply means that you won’t have to wait long before receiving your package.

“In transit, arriving late,” on the other hand, just means that there was a delay along the way.

Several things, like bad weather, natural disasters, and so on, can cause this delay.

And sometimes it’s a technical problem, like when a vehicle breaks down, or it’s just a small delay caused by things like customs duties, etc.

But in general, when you get on transit and arrive late, it simply means that you will have to wait a long time.

Out For Delivery:

This notification often comes at the final stage of the delivery process. When you get this notification, it simply means that the local post office has passed on your package to the local carrier for the final delivery.

Therefore, he’s very close and usually you’ll get your parcel in just a few hours.