IPC: Preliminary 2016 results indicate overall growth trend for global postal industry
The International Post Corporation (IPC) announced today (6 July) that preliminary 2016 results show the global postal industry grow by 1.3%, despite challenging market conditions and ongoing declines in mail volumes. Increasing parcels and express volumes – especially B2C e-commerce items – supported revenue growth for many posts, added IPC, and revenue diversification continued across the industry and remains a key driver for growth.
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.”
While mail volumes declined across most markets, mail divisions remained profitable on average as posts further streamlined mail operations and increased efficiency. Posts also continued to expand their parcel networks to capitalise on the growth in e-commerce and improve customer convenience.
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.”
Complete 2016 results as well as results for the first half of 2017 will be presented in the IPC Global Postal Industry Report to be published in November 2017. The report will include a comprehensive and detailed review of the postal industry, covering 45 postal operators worldwide and analysing key market trends. A publicly available summary, the Key Findings, will also be published in November.
For more information on the IPC Global Postal Industry Report, please click here.
