Busiest week for busiest package facility

HODGKINS, Illinois (CNN) -- It is the busiest week of the year at the biggest and busiest package distribution facility in the world. UPS calls it the "Chicago Area Consolidation Hub" and it's located in Hodgkins, Illinois, southwest of Chicago.

CNN's Jeff Flock reports live Wednesday from the UPS hub, with cameras watching the 65 miles of conveyor belts, 11,000 employees, and 2,000,000 packages that will move through the facility.

Look for Flock's reports:

On CNN: 11:30 a.m. EST, 1 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. EST, 8 p.m. EST
On CNNfn: 2 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. EST
On CNN International: 11:30a EST (1530 GMT)
On CNN.com: In the 2 p.m. EST hour

UPS holiday shipping facts:

  • UPS delivers 325,000,000 packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas

  • UPS delivers 19,000,000 packages system-wide on peak day

  • Most holiday packages travel by ground not air

  • UPS hires an additional 3,500 drivers during peak week 2,000

Source: UPS

Packages delivered in 1999:

  • UPS: 3.07 billion

  • US Postal Service: 2.30 billion

  • FedEx: 1.13 billion

Source: Traffic World Magazine 1999

UPS Chicago (Hodgkins, Ill.) hub facts:

  • 1.5 million square feet

  • 65 miles of conveyor belts

  • 11,000 employees

  • 1.3 million packages processed daily

  • 7 million packages processed weekly

  • 1.8 million packages processed on peak day

  • 9 million packages processed in peak week

Source: UPS

Holiday Packing Tips: (from UPS)

  • Find a good box: Make sure it's big enough to handle all your items and the protective materials you need to use. The boxes should be free of labels, rips or holes.

  • Protection: Use bubble pack, synthetic peanuts, cardboard dividers. Try not to use newspaper unless the item is fairly light.

  • Labels: Make sure the complete name, address and apartment number. Double check that it's right. Try to include a duplicate mailing label inside in case the outer label comes off or is obscured.

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