The global postal industry grew by 1.3% in 2016, in the face of challenging market conditions and declines in mail volumes, according to preliminary findings by the International Postal Corporation (IPC).

The IPC report shows that B2C e-commerce parcels supported revenue growth for most postal operators, many of which which have also diversified out of their core businesses to aid revenues in the face of mail declines.

Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC, commented: “The postal industry continues to maintain revenue in an increasingly competitive market. With continuing mail volume declines, postal operators are delivering more and more parcels and are further diversifying their businesses to support revenue growth. We also saw that throughout 2016, many posts focused on improving the operational efficiency of their delivery networks, for example by investing in sorting centre automation. The future lies in the development of innovative solutions for e-commerce consumers, in particular cross-border.”

Streamlining mail operations and driving efficiencies into the process ensured that mail divisions of postal operators remained profitable even in the face of volume declines according to the IPC. They also expanded their parcel networks to capitalise on the growth of e-commerce.

Winklbauer continued: “In 2016, international operations remained an important source of revenue for many posts in both mail and parcel divisions. IPC continues to work together with its member postal operators to leverage the growth potential presented by the developments in cross-border e-commerce, while at the same time maximising efficiency and quality in the international mail segment.”

 
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