UPS is “throwing away” packages destined for the US due to customs paperwork issues
Thousands of packages destined for the United States are shipped via UPS They are stuck in hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.
As packages flagged for customs issues piled up at UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it had begun “clearing out” some shipments.
Frustrated UPS customers describe waiting weeks and trying to understand dozens of conflicting tracking updates from the world’s largest delivery company.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Matthew Wasserbach, brokerage director at Express Customs Clearance, said of the UPS backlog. “It’s completely unprecedented.”
Wasserbach’s New York City-based shipping services company helps clients move shipments through customs. He said the company has seen a spike in inquiries for UPS customs clearance assistance.
More than two dozen people waiting for their UPS packages explained the conditions of their shipments to NBC News.
They described shipments of tea, telescopes, fine glassware, musical instruments and more – some worth tens of thousands of dollars – all forgotten or perhaps gone.
Others have deep sentimental value: notebooks, diplomas, even engagement rings.
Frustration has exploded online, with customers sharing horror stories of missing people on Reddit Skin care products, art and Collectibles.
They are confused and angry, and they want answers.
Packages destroyed?
“It’s almost impossible to reach anyone to find out what’s going on,” said Ashley Freeberg, who said she lost several boxes she shipped via UPS from England in September.
“Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?”
Freeberg’s boxes of magazines, records and books were shipped on September 18, according to tracking documents she shared with NBC News.
Over the next two weeks, she received two separate notifications from UPS that her personal memorabilia had not cleared customs and as a result had been “thrown away” by UPS.
Then, on October 1, an update appeared on UPS’ tracking of her packages, saying they were on the way. The tracking updates Freberg showed NBC News for that shipment revealed it was the last update she received.
While it is impossible to measure sentimental value, other customers fear they will not be able to recover financially if their goods are destroyed.
Five shipments from Japan, most containing matcha green tea and worth a combined value of more than $127,000, were all sent via UPS over the past few weeks and arrived at UPS’s international parcel processing center in Louisville, Kentucky, said tea importer Lauren Purvis of Portland, Oregon. Purvis has yet to receive any of the shipments, just a flurry of conflicting tracking updates from UPS.
A series of notices for one shipment, which she shared with NBC News, said the shipment had not cleared customs and that UPS had disposed of it.
But a subsequent tracking update said the shipment had cleared customs and was on its way.
“We know how to document and pay for our packages properly,” Purvis said. “There should be no reason why a properly documented and paid package should be thrown away.”
At least a half-dozen people described the emotional roller coaster they experienced after weeks of contradictory UPS tracking updates about their shipments. They said the updates compounded the stress of not knowing what really happened to their property.
AJ, a Boston man who asked NBC News to use only his initials to protect his privacy, said he shipped a package from Japan via UPS on Sept. 12, which included Japanese-language books, a pillow and a backpack.
After being in Louisville for about two weeks, AJ got a tracking update on Sept. 26, one of many he shared with NBC News. “We are sorry, your package has not cleared customs and has been removed from the UPS network. Per customs guidelines, it has been destroyed. Please contact the sender for more information,” the message read.
Three days later, on September 29, he received another letter, which read: “On the way. Import inspection, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.” For a moment, it looked as if AJ’s charge had been found.
But less than 24 hours after his hopes rose, another tracking update arrived: “We’re sorry,” it began. This was the same notice that his package had been “destroyed” that he received on the 26th.
Two minutes later, he got the final update: “Unable to deliver. Package cannot be cleared due to customs delay or missing information. Attempt to contact sender. Package disposed of.”
Customs chaos
International shipping has been thrown into disarray after a long-standing “minimum” customs exemption for low-value parcels expired on August 29.
Parcels worth $800 or less, which were previously allowed into the U.S. duty-free, are now subject to a host of tariffs and fees.
They include hundreds of country-specific rates, or so-called reciprocal tariffs, imposed by President Donald Trump, as well as new duties on certain products and materials.
The result is that international shipping to the United States today is much more complex and expensive than it was a couple of months ago.
These sweeping changes have created a tariff dilemma among individuals and seasoned exporters alike.
It is difficult to know the exact number of packages stuck in UPS customs clearing. Shipping companies closely protect their delivery data.
UPS informed investors that in 2023, its international services will be offered worldwide 3.2 million packages daily.
This week, the company told NBC News that it clears more than 90% of the packages it handles through customs on the first day.
The rest of the packages, or less than 10%, require more time to clear customs and must be held until they do. This could easily mean that thousands of UPS packages every day don’t clear customs on the first try.
There is no easy solution
In a statement to NBC News, UPS said it is making every effort to deliver all packages to their destinations while adhering to the new customs requirements.
“Due to changes in US import regulations, we are seeing many packages unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required to clear customs,” she said.
UPS said it is making several attempts to obtain any missing information and clear up delayed shipments, and is contacting shippers three times.
“In cases where we cannot obtain the information necessary to scan the package, there are two options,” she said.
“First, the package can be returned to the original carrier at their expense. Second, if the customer does not respond and the package cannot be cleared for delivery, disposal of the shipment is in compliance with US customs regulations. We continue to work to bridge the understanding gap associated with the new requirements, and as always, we remain committed to serving our customers.”
NBC News asked UPS specifically what it does with packages when it tells customers their shipments couldn’t clear customs and were “thrown away.” I won’t say.
On September 27, a Stockholm shipping company received official notification from UPS that two packages its glassware company sent to the United States — which had failed to clear customs — would be destroyed.
“We are sorry, but due to these circumstances and the perishable nature of the contents, we must now proceed with destroying the shipment in accordance with regulatory guidelines,” UPS told Annie Cernia in an email she shared with NBC News.
“There is no need to contact our contact center for further information or to attempt to clear this shipment,” the email continued.
“It is outrageous that they can throw away products like this without the consent of the sender or recipient,” Cernia said.
Cernia said that from now on, it plans to ship its products via UPS’s competitor, FedEx.
problem in the future
Cernea’s decision to switch carriers suggests a worst-case scenario for UPS, which is that people could abandon the company. It’s a potential crisis for the company, which is worth about $70 billion.
The company’s stock price has already fallen more than 30% this year, which analysts attribute to a combination of tariffs, competition and changing shopping habits.
As she waits for her lost diaries and certificates from England, Freberg looks forward to the biggest shipping months of the year.
“I can’t even imagine how bad the holidays are, because that’s when a lot of people ship things overseas,” she said.
“If it is not resolved soon, I can only see it becoming a bigger problem.”