Swiss Post ‘expanding parcel plants and doubling sorting capacities by 2030’

Swiss Post reports that it is investing around 1.2 billion francs in its infrastructure, as it looks to expand its network of parcel plants and double its sorting capacity by the end of the decade.

In a notice posted on its website, the company reported that four of the 15 new regional parcel centres which it plans to roll out by 2030 are now already in operation at Cadenazzo, Vétroz, Ostermundigen and Untervaz. Meanwhile, building applications for five more parcel centres – at Utzenstorf, Buchs, Pratteln, Rümlang and Härkingen – are ‘planned or are already in the approval process’.

The expansion of the parcel network is Swiss Post‘s response to its customers’ appetite for ‘more and more parcels and fewer and fewer letters’.

Swiss Post described the parcel volumes it is now processing as ‘gigantic’, with annual growth rates of between 5% and 7% in recent years as a result of the e-commerce boom. In 2020, the company reported a huge jump in demand as it processed more than 191 million parcels through its sorting systems – which was 23% up on the previous year. In contrast, said Swiss Post, the volume of letters has fallen by more than 40% since 2002.

Swiss Post has also responded to the changes in the market by merging its parcels and letters divisions into one unit.

Johannes Cramer, Head of Logistics Services at Swiss Post, summarised the company’s plans for future development: ‘We want to provide a first-class public service in the long term. To this end, we are investing heavily in infrastructure: with around CHF 1.2 billion, we are expanding our parcel plants and doubling our sorting capacities by 2030.’