U.S. Parcel Volume Has Doubled Over the Past 10 Years

Over the past two decades, e-commerce has fundamentally changed the American retail landscape. What began as a niche alternative to brick-and-mortar stores has grown into a dominant retail channel, as shopping online gradually became more convenient for consumers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales grew from $27 billion in 2000 to $1.23 trillion last year, as the share of online sales in total retail sales increased from 0.9 percent to 16.4 percent.

The digital shopping boom brought profound, and sometimes overlooked, logistical challenges with it. To meet the ever-growing demand for online purchases, retailers and logistics providers had to invest tens of billions into fulfillment infrastructure and solve the notoriously difficult and expensive "last-mile" puzzle to keep up with consumer expectations for fast, reliable delivery. Data from the latest Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index illustrates the monumental scale of the challenge. In 2025, U.S. parcel volume reached a record 23.1 billion packages, up from 22.4 billion in 2024 and double the 11.5 billion parcels handled in 2016. That equates to almost 70 parcels shipped per person last year and 171 parcels per household – roughly one every other day.

As our chart shows, parcel shipment volume surged dramatically during the pandemic years, growing from 15.4 billion in 2019 to 21.7 billion in 2021. After plateauing in 2022 and 2023, parcel deliveries have returned to their upward trajectory and Pitney Bowes projects U.S. parcel volume to reach 31 billion by 2031.