Revenue of the courier, express and parcel (CEP) sector by region 2015-2025

By 2025, the North American courier, express and parcel (CEP) market is expected to generate some 105 billion euros in revenue.

Global market for CEP

Once a hallmark of communication, postal services industry expands its operational capacity in light of changing customer preferences. Although globally the postal letter services are on the steep decline due to the replacement of letter services with electronic mail, postal firms discovered a new highly lucrative business opportunity, namely CEP services. Individuals prefer a multitude of differentiated services and are willing to pay a substantial amount to fulfil their desired preferences. The global CEP market doubled in size in a decade, up from 157 billion euros in 2009 to 330 billion euros in 2019. As a response to new market demands and opportunities, postal services operators invest in new infrastructure of providing delivery services with an increasing focus on parcels or other tailor-made adjustments. DHL, FedEx and UPS are three dominant providers of CEP services globally, they are also known as legacy providers because they make up over 90 percent of the total market worldwide.

FedEx: a short overview

The American multinational delivery services firm, FedEx was founded in 1971 to meet the express delivery needs in the U.S. Over time, successful corporate strategy and suitable market opportunities helped FedEx to become a global leader in CEP delivery. During the recent decade, FedEx Corporation doubled its revenue streams, reaching over 69 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. During that period, FedEx was the leading one in the U.S. with over one-third of market share. To sustain its global position, the company tries to innovate in the market place and enter new markets or offer distinctive services. Yet, economic coordination is not always a win-win game for each player firms. Despite huge efforts, multinational corporations like FedEx experience recessions in some regions, for instance in the Asia Pacific, where DHL is the dominant service provider.