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Deutsche Post DHL parcel center: Extensive corona closures led to high volumes
Photo: Jens Kalaene / dpa
More courier, express and parcel consignments were posted in Germany last year than ever before.
In total, more than 4.51 billion shipments were transported in 2021, according to the Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics (BIEK).
Compared to the previous year, the volume of parcels increased by 11.2 percent and thus double-digit for the second year in a row.
Growth drivers were shipments from shops and companies to private customers.
The increased volume of shipments was also reflected in the industry's turnover: According to BIEK, this amounted to 26.9 billion euros last year.
Compared to the previous year, there was a clear increase of 14.3 percent, which was the highest annual turnover ever achieved in the industry.
According to BIEK, the corona pandemic in particular had an impact on the volume of parcels last year.
In the first half of the year, when strict corona measures were in place, growth in the parcel market was constant at 20 percent.
In the second half of the year, growth dropped to just 3.8 percent.
DIY supplies and electronics less in demand
The high demand in online trading ensured particularly strong growth.
With an increase of 16.6 percent, deliveries from companies and shops to private customers in particular drove growth in the parcel sector.
However, this trend cooled over the course of the year due to ongoing supply chain problems and production restrictions at companies.
It is far from clear whether the growth in courier, express and parcel shipments will continue.
Fashion retailer Zalando, for example, is already feeling that the shopping baskets are getting smaller.
This is the return to normality after the corona boom.
Especially since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, customers have paid more attention to their money, as noted by the Federal Association of E-Commerce and Mail Order Germany.
DIY and handicraft supplies, flowers, car and motorcycle accessories, computers and other electronic items were much less in demand.
DHL, on the other hand, transported a fifth fewer parcels in the first quarter than during the strong corona restrictions in the first three months of 2021. "I think a sideways movement is realistic," said the author of the BEIK study, Klaus Esser.
After the online shopping boom of the past two years, Deutsche Post DHL has been anticipating a decline in the parcel business for months.
In the Post & Parcel Germany division, the company still expects an operating result of around 1.5 billion euros - and thus less than in 2021, in which an operating result of 1.8 billion euros was posted.
In the long term, however, the industry association BEIK expects further growth in the parcel segments.
The industry association forecasts around 5.7 billion shipments for 2026 and average growth of 4.7 percent per year until then.
However, the association did not make a forecast for the current year: the uncertainties caused by the Ukraine war, the strict corona measures in China and the high inflation are too great for a reliable forecast.
Apr/AFP/dpa
