The German courier, express and parcel (CEP) market grew 3.7 per cent to reach a new recordturnover of €15.5 billion last year thanks to the boom in online shopping in particular, a study
presented by the German International Express Association (BIEK) today found.Volumes increased by 3.5 per cent to 2.6 billion parcels, express shipments and courier itemsin 2012, according to the study for BIEK by KE Consult.
The largest market segment, parcels, had total sales of €8 billion last year and volumesincreased 4.3 per cent. E-commerce was the key growth driver in the parcels market, generating astrong increase in B2C deliveries. German B2C volumes increased by 9.2 per cent last year, and nowrepresent just over 50 per cent of the parcels market. In contrast, B2B shipments dropped slightlyby 0.6 per cent in volume terms, the study said.
The German express (time-definite) market represented €3.8 billion last year while thecourier market, covering mostly same-day and regional/city deliveries, accounted for a further €3.7billion, according to the BIEK survey. Growth and volume figures for the express and couriersegments were not presented in the study.
Looking ahead, German CEP operators expect growth to continue this year and through to 2017,the study found. Parcel volumes are forecast to increase 3.1 per cent this year, with a further 5per cent growth in B2C deliveries.
For the 2013-17 period, volumes are forecast to increase 4.2 per cent a year on average,which would be ahead of the average 3.5 per cent volume growth from 2000 to 2012. Parcel volumesare expected to grow 4.3 per cent a year while express shipments will increase by a more moderate 3per cent annually. International volumes are forecast to grow slightly faster than the domesticmarket.
The BIEK members are DPD, FedEx Express, GO, Hermes, Sovereign, trans-o-flex, TNT Express andUPS. DHL is not a member.
