German courier industry set for steady growth, says study
German courier, express and parcel (CEP) companies are predicting steady growth of their market up to the year 2016 according to a new industry survey.
The market study from Germany’s Association of International Express and Courier Services (BIEK) published yesterday predicted that over the next few years volumes would grow by around 3.2% per year.
The growth would still represent a slow-down in the 6% growth rate seen in 2011, when 2.5bn items were delivered.
The study suggested this year would see 2.6bn items delivered by the German CEP industry, rising to 2.9bn items in 2016.
The BIEK said the market was expected to surpass the growth seen in the overall economy, having already grown twice as fast as the overall economy since 1995.
Gunnar Uldall, the BIEK president, said the CEP industry was a leading indicator for the development of the German economy as a whole.
He said: “Our industry continues to be a decisive factor for the German economy. The extremely positive company results and forecasts for future years show a positive development. In general, CEP growth is economic growth.”
Revenues in the German CEP market grew by 6.3% in 2011 to EUR 14.98bn. The industry saw a 1.5% growth in its job numbers, up 2,800 to a total workforce size of 188,000.
Transport
Uldall said that for the CEP industry to continue its growth path, it needed a “rigorous” sustainable transport and economic policy from the German government.
The BIEK said the efficiency of courier and express services was suffering from night flight bans at German airports, road tolls and restrictions, and other transport infrastructure deficiencies.
Uldall said: “Only if there is a guarantee that goods can be transported within a very short period of time will the CEP industry meet its responsibility to the German economy in full.”
The BIEK, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has published studies of the German CEP market since 2004.
Since the height of the global economic crisis in 2009, when the market shrank by 2.5%, the CEP market has been growing at 6-7% a year.
