Revenues from Lithuania’s mail and express market grew by over a third last year to LTL 195 million(EUR 56.5 million) from LTL 146 million (EUR 42 million) in 2005, the Baltic Business Weekly
reported.Express companies surged 41% to LTL 107 million (EUR 31 million), growing 26% in Q4, whilemail providers expanded by 26% to LTL 88 million (EUR 25.5 million), increasing 43.6% in the fourthquarter, according to figures published by the government’s regulatory authority.
Despite their relatively small population base, the Baltic states, which also include Estoniaand Latvia, are turning into attractive CEP markets in view of their geographical location betweenPoland, Scandinavia and Russia.
Traffic flows have increased following their EU accession, with more road-based internationaltransport, thanks to easier border formalities, benefiting local carriers.
One of the biggest operators in the country is Baltic Logistic System (BLS), the GeoPostsubsidiary that operates under the DPD brand. BLS Vilnius increased its turnover in 2005 by 38% to27.6 million litas (€7.9 million) and increased parcel volumes by 33% to 1.6 million, mostly thanksto strong growth of international parcels.
BLS has a large sorting centre in Kaunas, where Finland Post is also opening a 13,000 sqmfreight and logistics centre this April as part of its eastern European expansion.
