GO TO LATEST EDITION
Executive Summary Table of Contents
Back to Logistics & Distribution Reports Index
Back to Other Business Services Reports IndexWorldwide Business Information and Market Reports
ISBN 1-85765-693-8
GO TO LATEST EDITION Executive Summary Table of Contents
Back to Logistics & Distribution Reports Index
Back to Other Business Services Reports Index
In 1998, the total market for courier and express
services, comprising mail, documents, parcels and freight, was estimated by Key
Note at £3.8bn, compared with £2.3bn in 1994. The estimated 65 percent
increase in sales was due largely to the growth in the carriage of express
freight, which has become a very important feature of the industry since more
companies have added logistics to their range of services. The core business of
same-day, next-day and up-to-72-hour deliveries of mail, documents and parcels
continues to be the dominant activity, accounting for around two-thirds of
total sales, but is less profitable than the newer, higher-added value
logistics service which controls the administration, transport and delivery of
goods within the supply chain for outside clients.
Fundamental changes are
taking place within the industry as competition is growing from several
directions. There are 4,160 courier and express companies in the UK according
to the latest 1998 figures, but only around 40 companies offer comprehensive
national and international services. Some of these companies are independent
and others are subsidiaries of large groups with complementary interests.
Because of the increasing involvement of courier and express companies in the
movement of express freight, they are joined by a variety of transport
specialists and distributors which may, or may not, include traditional courier
and express services in their operating structures.
An even more
significant development is the growing power, within the industry, of several
European Post Offices -- most notably the Dutch Post Office and Deutsche Post.
Parcelforce Worldwide, the parcels subsidiary of the British Post Office, in
danger of being sidelined by these developments, has been allocated around
£1.5bn to make acquisitions which will ensure its place among the leading
courier and express and logistics companies in Europe.
The domestic market
for courier and express services is still dominant, but is growing relatively
slowly compared with the international market, particularly the European market
-- where new opportunities in central and eastern Europe are beginning to make
an impact on western European service providers. Closer integration of
businesses in Europe is also making a big impact on the professional and
commercial service providers, who are closely involved in these
developments.
It is estimated that the total market in courier and express
services will reach £4.31bn in 1999, and further increase by 28.8 percent to
£5.55bn by 2003. However, despite growth in the domestic market, its
share of the total market will be 58.3 percent at the end of the period, compared with
63.3 percent in 1999. Deliveries to European destinations are expected to increase by
around 60 percent, from £900m to £1.43bn in 2003, as the western European
economies and businesses become more closely integrated, and central and
eastern European economies develop closer trading links with their western
counterparts. Non-European international deliveries are expected to increase by
29.5 percent, from £682m to £883m over the same period, mainly because of
the expansion of trade with North America and the Far East.
Back to Top
Text © 1999 Key Note
Back to Top
Back
To REPORTFINDER HOME PAGEAriadne - working together with our customers to enhance productivity and increase knowledge
© 2000 www.the-list.co.uk Ariadne
Last updated by Jacob van Eldik 24th January 2000