What Is A Shipping Partner?

Does anyone know how the mail works nowadays? USPS facilities are marked as such, I suppose. What might a shipping partner be?

I am waiting on a package with the following tracking information:

Arrived at USPS Destination Facility
2016-08-04, 14:01:00, CHICAGO METRO

Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
2016-08-03, 14:41:00, DES MOINES, IA 50395

Accepted at USPS Facility
2016-08-03, 13:41:00, DES MOINES, IA 50395

Arrived Shipping Partner Facility
2016-07-31, 15:10:00, FOREST PARK, IL 60130

Departed Shipping Partner Facility
2016-07-31, 08:04:00, CINCINNATI, OH 45235

Arrived Shipping Partner Facility
2016-07-31, 06:09:00, CINCINNATI, OH 45235

Picked Up by Shipping Partner
2016-07-29, 16:04:00, MISHAWAKA, IN 46545

This is a small package from betterworldbooks, a great company.

In my neck of the woods a package is sometimes send by UPS or Fed-Ex to the post office close to me who than deliver it to me. I think your package is on a sight-seeing tour of the US! But it should arrive any time now.

Peter

Peter, I hope you're right about my not having to worry! Hahaha!

I sent a stamp collection registered mail. With registered mail you can see a whole lot more detail in where it goes. My box wandered all over the place before it finally got delivered.

In my experience the shipping partner is always UPS.

Typically, the shipping partner (UPS or FedEx), picks up the shipment from the shipper and transports it to the addresses post office distribution center where it is turned over to USPS for delivery. This delivery method is used by many large shippers including the mail order pharmacy, Express Scripts.

Smauggie, I have had them all seems like. I can remember DHL at one point.

Peter

Is any of this information imprinted on the envelope or package? If not, is this an issue for future postal history buffs?