MAPPING THE INCREDIBLE GROWTH TRAJECTORY OF THE GLOBAL PARCEL INDUSTRY By Jason Dies
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or the past six years, the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index has closely tracked the parcel industry in 13 of the world’s most influential markets. Each year, the industry’s growth story continues. With just one exception (Japan), the forecasts for both volume and revenue continue to grow at least to 2025 for every country in the Index. Although largely e-commerce-driven and boosted by the explosion in online shopping in 2020, this growth is also generated by B2B shipments. People are shipping more and becoming increasingly reliant on the world’s carriers to move and deliver parcels. In response, carriers are powering up, accelerating innovation, and investing in infrastructure. It’s important for any business that ships parcels to stay on top of these trends, particularly businesses that send or receive packages overseas. Market volumes and trends impact carrier strategy and influence the shipping costs, tariffs, and rates that you pay, as well as the services available to you. Ultimately, this affects your customers and revenue. Here are three key takeaways from the latest index, which will help you drive your planning for 2021 and beyond. Parcel Shipping Volumes Will Continue to Rise for at Least the Next Five Years
32 PARCELindustry.com JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021