Swiss Post has announced its parcel and letter volumes for 2023, with both services reporting a decline. The operator handled 185 million parcels last year, a fall of 4.7% compared to 2022, and 1.64 billion letters, a decline of 5.6%.
The decline in parcel volumes throughout 2023 is a result of “general inflation, continued subdued consumer confidence and the geopolitical situation”, the post said. However, when considered in line with the reference year 2019 before the Covid pandemic, 2023 parcel volumes rose by 24% (or 35 million parcels) and Swiss Post expects parcel volumes to continue to rise in the medium and long term.
Today, Swiss Post customers send around 70% more parcels than 10 years ago. Based on this long-term trend, the postal operator continues to expect significant growth in the parcel market and opened new facilities for sorting parcels in 2023 – with two regional parcel centers, in Wallisellen and Pratteln, and the installation of a parcel sorting machine in the Härkingen letter center.
Johannes Cramer, head of logistics services and member of executive management, commented, “We have become more and more efficient in recent years and we sort what is produced regionally in the regions. We will continue to assess where optimization measures in our logistics network are necessary and possible.”
Swiss Post is also dependent on global and national economic developments. However, the focus remains on customer needs, according to Cramer. He said, “On the one hand, our customers have an influence on parcel volumes. On the other, companies will have additional requirements in terms of posting locations and times at our logistics sites in the future. We are responding flexibly and adapting our resources and infrastructure with foresight. This capacity to adapt is fundamental to a forward-looking and strong public service.”