Pitney Bowes Inc., a global technology company that provides commerce solutions in the areas of e-commerce, shipping, mailing, and data, released the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index – the industry’s most comprehensive parcel shipping report along with shipping-related insights across 13 countries representing 3.7 billion people. The survey reports that parcel shipping generated USD $279 billion in revenue last year, an increase of 11 percent over 2016.
Parcel volume globally grew 17 percent last year to 74.4 billion parcels, up from 63.6 billion in 2016. This was in the 17-28 percent growth projection range given in last year’s Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index. On average, there were 22 parcels shipped per person globally, and 2,300 parcels shipped every second.
China once again reported the largest parcel volume growth at 28 percent year-over-year (YOY). India followed China with a year-on-year growth at 15%. Parcel volume in India grew at the slowest pace in the past five years as customers placed fewer online orders in response to demonetization and implementation of GST.
Lila Snyder, President, Commerce Services at Pitney Bowes said
Globally, e-commerce continues to drive growth in all regions. Global ecommerce giants continue to raise the bar, resetting consumer expectations when it comes to shipping. As retailers and marketplaces race to keep up with increasing consumer expectations, carriers must create efficient, seamless services that deliver in a world of ‘fast and free’ e-commerce shipping.
The Index expects global shipping volume to surpass 100 billion parcels in 2020 in aggregate across the 13 countries reviewed – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.
Key Findings by Region
Asia Pacific [Australia, China, India, Japan]
- Australia shipped 841 million parcels at 34 parcels per person an 8 percent increase YoY.
- China’s parcel volume reached 40.1 billion in 2017, or 1,270 parcels shipped each second. With the highest parcel volume in the study, China is up 28 percent YoY shipping 29 parcels per person in 2017.
- India shipped just 1 parcel per person in 2017, yet grew 15 percent YoY reaching a total of 1.5 billion parcels shipped. However, domestic and international carriers and retailers remain upbeat on future prospects of the Indian market, and have made sizeable investments in logistics segment of the country.
- Japan shipped 76 parcels per person in 2017 with YoY growth at 2 percent and a total parcel volume shipped at 9.6 billion.
View the Pitney Bowes Shipping Index interactive map and infographic to learn more.
About the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index
The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index measures parcel volume and spend for business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-business and consumer consigned shipments with weight up to 31.5 Kg [70 pounds] across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Population data points were sourced from the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database published in October 2017. The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index spans 13 countries and represents the parcel shipping activity of 3.7 billion people.