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Traffic jams in the parcel center: During the corona pandemic, the industry increased sorting capacities and hired additional employees
Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance / dpa
The boom in online trading during the corona pandemic has helped the parcel market to grow further.
In 2021, an average of 54 parcels per person were sent in Germany, five more than in the previous year.
This is the result of the so-called "Parcel Shipping Index" of the international postal service provider Pitney Bowes, which examined the largest parcel markets in the world.
Germany is therefore above the average of the countries considered, but the world champion in the industry is Great Britain with 80 shipments per capita and year - followed by China with 77;
the parcel market there has grown particularly strongly over the past year.
The study takes into account all packages to private individuals and companies that were sent within a country or internationally.
It is based on annual reports and notifications from parcel services and market researchers.
Deutsche Post expands market leadership
According to this, all major parcel services in Germany had to carry more shipments in 2021 than in the previous year.
However, Deutsche Post was able to expand its market leadership during the pandemic with its DHL brand.
According to the study, the former state monopoly transports every second package sent in Germany.
In contrast to competitors such as Hermes or UPS, Swiss Post has the competitive advantage that, especially in rural areas, one and the same courier delivers letters and parcels.
"Overall, the market continues to consolidate towards the big providers," says Burkhard Heihoff, Germany boss of Pitney Bowes.
Parcel services have benefited in recent years from the fact that people have ordered significantly more products on the Internet, which are then often delivered to their front door.
The industry grew particularly strongly in those phases of the pandemic in which shops had to close temporarily or were only allowed to open with restrictions.
"Now we're watching with interest how the situation will develop in the coming year," says Heihoff.
DHL transports a sixth fewer packages
Because the state is now not only trying to avoid pandemic-related shutdowns.
Consumer sentiment has also deteriorated significantly since many people have been spending more money on gas or electricity and are therefore saving elsewhere.
Deutsche Post, for example, transported 16 percent fewer parcels in Germany in the first half of this year than in the same period last year.
Since personnel and transport costs have also risen, profits in the letter and parcel business fell within a year.
However, the group keeps increasing its prices in return.
And the level of consignment volumes is “structurally higher” than before the pandemic, according to the Post: At the latest during the corona crisis, significantly more people got used to ringing parcel delivery people.