Surface mail

Surface mail is transported via truck, rail, and ship, rather than by plane, as in this FedEx Ground truck.

Surface mail, also known as sea mail, is mail that is transported by land and sea (along the surface of the earth), rather than by air, as in airmail. Surface mail is significantly less expensive but slower than airmail, and thus is preferred for large or heavy, non-urgent items and is primarily used for sending packages, not letters.

History

The term "surface mail" arose as a retronym (retrospective term), following the development of airmail – a term was needed to describe traditional mail, for which purpose "surface mail" was coined. A more recent example of the same process is the term snail mail (to refer to physical mail, be it transported by surface or air), following the development of email.^[1]

By country

United States

On May 14th, 2007, the United States Postal Service eliminated international surface mail as part of its cost-cutting measures.^[2] Domestic Ground Parcel Post (now "Retail Ground" or "Commercial Parcel Select") remains, as has been since 1913.

References

↑ Cognitive English grammar, by Günter Radden, René Dirven, p. 4
↑ USPS International Mail - Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 10 October 2007. Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

Royal Mail: Surface Mail

Mail and postal systems

History	Timeline of postal history African countries Asian countries European countries Oceania countries American countries

Components	Advertising mail Bulk mail Envelope Indicia Information-Based Indicia Letter box Mail Mail bag Meter stamp Packstation Parcel Post box / Mailbox Post office Post-office box Postage meter Postage stamp Postal code Postmark

Delivery	Airmail Express Package delivery Registered Surface Surface Air Lifted (SAL)

Staff	Mail carrier Postal worker Postmaster Postmaster General

Processing	Intelligent Mail barcode Mail Isolation Control and Tracking Multiline Optical Character Reader Mail cover Mail sorter PLANET POSTNET

Institutions and systems	Postal entities Postal museums Postal services Postal systems by country Trade unions

Related	Courier Philately Stamp collecting

List of entities that have issued postage stamps	A-E F-L M-Z

Category Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.