TNT Express market share

TNT has long been the dominant player on the European Express scene, dedicating more resources to holding its share and maintaining its position, particularly in ground transportation, than any of its rivals.
David Burton, admits that performing was harder in 2001 than in 2002, reflecting general global economic trends. However, despite this, TNT managed to sustain its bottom line for the year, even though volumes fell, he says.
In 2000, the express division worldwide represented 41 percent of parent company TPG’s revenue and 19 percent of operational earnings.
At that time, it was decided yield improvement was the way forward, but TNT did not want to frustrate its present customer base with a raft of automatic rate increases. Instead it decided to adjust the mix of the business. Burton says: “It was a question of reducing the revenue of our large accounts and increasing the number of small to medium and ad-hoc customers, especially on the international side.’ TNT has seen a 15 percent increase in customers for Europe in the last year. although this figure reflects growth in newer markets more than older ones, Burton says. “In the Benelux area, for example, and especially in Holland there are so many international companies that there is a much higher proportion of major accounts. This means the yields are already good as it is a mature market , where the interaction between the supplier and the customer is often very sophisticated. Eighty percent of shipments use some form of EDI, be it for bookings, transmitting data or
track and trace.” This contributes to improved yields, Burton says, as value is added
more easily.
The fall off in volume by weight seen during 2001 happened as the number of consignments rose, and shipments on the whole became lighter. Burton atthbutes this firstly to the creation of newer, smaller models, especially for items like mobile phones, and secondly he sees companies shipping smaller amounts as they reduce inventory and increase their responsiveness to consumer demand
Furthermore, more shippers are choosing slower, non-premium services when possible, as a cost-saving measure.