The International Post Corporation (IPC) has released its Global Postal Industry Report 2019, which reveals that e-commerce was the driving force of postal industry growth in 2018. According to the report, parcels revenue increased year-on-year by €6.9bn(US$7.7bn) in 2018.
Volumes of parcels (weighing 2-30kg) delivered by posts grew 9.1% on average in 2018, while their aggregate volumes have almost doubled since 2008. However, volume growth still lags behind that of the e-commerce market, which quadrupled in size over the same period, offering posts opportunities for further development.
“E-commerce remains the engine for postal industry growth. And with global e-commerce sales predicted to roughly double over the next five years, delivery firms are competing intensely to offer faster, cheaper and simpler solutions to consumers and e-retailers alike,” said Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC.
Driven by growth for lightweight e-commerce packets, as well as rate increases, posts saw aggregate mail revenue grow €1.8bn (US$2bn) in 2018, despite accelerating volume decline. Mail volumes were down 5.9% on average in 2018, following a 5.0% average drop in 2017.
The IPC Global Postal Industry Report is published annually and covers 50 posts from Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and BRICS countries, as well as integrators UPS and FedEx.
To read more about the IPC Global Postal Industry Report, click here. <https://www.ipc.be/sector-data/postal-sector/key-findings>