The economy may still be in the doldrums, but Atlanta-based UPS will be spreading a little holiday cheer. Last year the shipping giant added 55,982 seasonal employees—1,247 in Atlanta alone—to help with the year-end rush, and similar hiring is forecast for Christmas 2012.

4
The number of major UPS hubs in the metro area, including Forest Park, Roswell, Atlanta, and Pleasantdale

400
The number of extra flights per day UPS added during its busiest week of the year

December 23
The last day to ship a package and have it delivered by Christmas Eve

120 million
The number of packages UPS expects to deliver during the week before Christmas

December 20
The busiest shipping day of the year; UPS anticipates delivering 28 million packages at a rate of 300 packages per second

3 million
The approximate number of express shipments UPS handled daily during the busiest week of the year at the company’s Worldport hub in Louisville, Kentucky

15.8 million
The average number of packages delivered each day by UPS around the world

$48.92
The cost of standard shipping for a five-pound package sent from Atlanta to North Pole, Alaska

Photograph by zyphbear/Flickr