Graduate student Nicole Lobo moved back to the US in late August after a year in the UK, shipping 10 boxes of possessions back home to Philadelphia that she expected to arrive within a few days.

Six weeks later, she is still waiting for the shipment - and fears it is lost, destroyed by UPS as the company struggles to handle a flood of packages facing new customs and tariff rules.

It's been horrific, says the 28-year-old, who was notified last month that her boxes would be disposed of, leaving her to make frantic phone calls and send emails to try to head off the outcome.

It's an ordeal facing many UPS customers since the Trump administration in late August stopped allowing parcels worth less than $800 to enter the US without inspection, taxes or tariffs.

The decision abruptly made an estimated 4 million packages each day subject to new, more onerous processing and documentation rules.

As the influx leads to longer processing times and higher, sometimes unexpected, costs across the industry, some customers of UPS like Nicole fear their packages have been lost in the backlog.

It's beyond comprehension to me, says Janani Mohan, a 29-year-old engineer living in Michigan, who has also spent hours on hold and sent repeated emails since a tracking alert listed a box sent by her parents in India as set for disposal.

The parcel held her wedding dress, which had also been worn by her mother, an heirloom sari from her grandmother, and wedding photos, among other items.

I literally cried to them on the phone, she says. Everything in there is very close to my heart.

Oregon-based Mizuba Tea Co, which has used UPS for more than a decade to import matcha from Japan, has five shipments together worth more than $100,000 held up in processing.

The firm has received conflicting alerts about their status, including some saying the items were set for disposal.

Lauren Purvis, who runs the business with her family, worries about running out of inventory if the limbo continues. It's just clear to us that the current importing systems were not prepared to handle the sheer amount of volume and paperwork.

Importers typically have 10 days after goods enter the US to submit documentation about the goods, pay tariffs and other fees.

But the Trump administration's rapid changes to tariff rules have made it increasingly difficult to meet customs deadlines, shipping companies say.

For example, businesses are now responsible for paying tariffs on any steel or aluminum contained in a product, and in many cases vouching for its country of origin.

Because of changes to US import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance, a UPS spokeswoman said.

While acknowledging longer shipping times, the company said it was still successfully clearing more than 90% of international packages within a day of arrival.

The spokeswoman said its policy was to contact customers three times before moving to dispose of a package.

But several customers have reported receiving no prior communication before being alerted that their packages would be disposed of.

FedEx, another major player in the industry, said it does not typically destroy packages, unless directed to do so by the shipper.

Nicole, the graduate student, says she responded promptly with more information about her items, only to not hear back until seeing the notice about disposal. After inquiries, her tracking updated to say her package was on the way.

Similarly, Janani’s package now appears to have cleared customs after a follow-up request from the company after the media got involved.

However, the chaos has incurred real costs for businesses like Swedish Candy Land, which claims losses of roughly $50,000 due to undelivered packages.

Experts warn that the issues may worsen before improving, creating challenges not only for the affected individuals but also for the larger supply chain.