I was wondering if the government shutdown has any affect with customs agents with packages coming in and out of the country. Does anyone know?
Most USPS, ups, FedEx mail is contracted out, much of it through companies like I work for, which are not effected. If there's delay it's on the initiating or final ends of it.
CBP offices should be open and operational during the limited shutdown. There might be a decrease in hours for part-timers and maybe pay-cuts, but I'm fairly certain that CPB would be considered an essential branch of the government. It wouldn't affect packages LEAVING the US, and it should only have a noticeable effect on lines coming into the country at airports. Beyond that, the mail shouldn't be affected by the limited shutdown, either, since the USPS is a private contractor. This is why they were able to petition for the limited delivery days when the company was claiming it would go bankrupt.
the USPS is funded differently from the government ( or more like on it own ) and is not affected ... other departments of the government are affected and will be operating alot slowly than needed .... but still operational