Express Delivery Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Application, End Use and Destination : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030

Express Delivery Market Statistics 2021-2030:

The global express delivery market was valued at $262.86 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $484.38 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 6.4% from 2021 to 2030.    

Express delivery is the fastest form of shipping that involves the delivery of various goods and products through different mediums such as air, water, and land. The customer pays an extra shipping cost for this type of delivery, as the shipment will get transported to him anywhere between 24 to 72 hours depending on the distance of the shipment. In express shipping, the price and rates are also higher when compared with other forms of transportation. Express delivery services significantly operate on the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) models. These include personal and business items such as letters, documents, merchandise, consumer goods, and other non-palletized goods. Several express delivery service providers also offer value-added services such as packaging, labeling, billing, payment collection, return, and exchange.

The factors, such as developing e-commerce industry coupled with rising B2C deliveries and rapid growth in international trade services fuel the market growth. However, lack of infrastructure and higher operational costs hinder the market growth. Further, rise in technological advancements in delivery services and emergence of last-mile deliveries with technological advancements in delivery vehicles are some of the factors that are anticipated to foster the express delivery market growth. 

The express delivery market is segmented on the basis of application, end-use, and destination. By application, it is bifurcated into B2B and B2C. By end-use, it is divided into e-commerce platform, document service, and others. By destination, it is categorized into domestics and international. Region wise, it is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

Aramex, BEST Inc, DB Schenker, Deutsche Post Ag (DHL GROUP), DSV (DSV Panalpina), FedEx, Geodis, SF Express, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) and YTO Express Group Co. are some of the leading key players operating in the express delivery market.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented crisis with dramatic economic impacts on the express delivery services industry. Strict constraints have been posed on international transport, particularly on road and air traffic. Therefore, shipping was almost impossible during the first few months of COVID-19. In addition, shortage of the shipping staff, owing to the restrictions imposed by governments further impacted the operations of express delivery services during the pandemic. Although the pandemic has accelerated the decline of letters & document parcel and growth of e-commerce parcels due to an increased number of people shopping from home. The e-commerce and daily essentials goods industry is expected to affect the express delivery services industry positively during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, there has been increase in urgent demand for healthcare and FMCG supplies, such as hospital supplies, gloves, sanitizers, vaccinations, and perishable food items, which propels the growth of the express delivery market during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developing e-commerce industry coupled with rise in B2C deliveries

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods by using internet. The e-commerce market is significantly growing, owing to young population, high internet penetration rate, and rise in smartphone penetration rates. For instance, according to the Vietnamese government, the number of online shoppers in the country is expected to reach around 55% of the population with an average spend of $600 annually by 2025. In addition, development in the e-commerce industry is expected to provide future growth opportunities for foreign and local logistics services, especially express delivery services. For instance, according to Boston Consulting Group, the e-commerce sales will be 22% of total retail sales, by 2023. Also, according to UN’s trade and development body (UNCTAD), the value of global B2B e-commerce in 2018 was $21 trillion, representing 83% of all e-commerce, whereas B2C e-commerce was valued at $4.4 trillion. Further, e-commerce players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba and others have partner with express delivery service providers across domestic and international locations to efficiently executive last-mile deliveries. Moreover, increase in consumer preference toward faster delivery of goods has made express delivery services a key differentiator among larger e-commerce players as well as emerging startups. For instance, E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA) estimated that delivery services, especially same-day, last-mile, and express deliveries would record a revenue growth of 30-40% by 2025. Therefore, growth of the e-commerce industry is expected to drive the express delivery market growth, owing to the rise in demand for this service for the B2C business segment.

Rapid growth in international trade services

The development of cross-border trade channels, especially in emerging nations, has enhanced the adoption of international trade and B2C shipments. Also, growth of cross-border e-commerce coupled with rapid globalization is the key factor for the development of international trade in the country. Attributed to factors, such as unavailability of products in the domestic market, affordability, and better quality, people prefer to buy things from international websites. Therefore, growth in cross-border e-commerce sales led to increase in the import volume of international parcels, which in turn, fuels the demand for express delivery services in the country. In addition, development of the overseas market is a significant factor that fuels the growth of the market. For instance, in 2019, Nepal and China signed the Protocol on Implementing Agreement on Transit and Transport along with 6 other agreements to enable Nepal to access Chinese sea and land ports. China has agreed to let Nepal use Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang, and Zhanjiang open seaports; and Lanzhou, Lhasa, and Xigatse dry ports for trading with other countries. In addition, in December 2020, India and the UK announced a plan to finalize free trade agreement (FTA) in areas such as pharmaceuticals, fintech, chemicals, defense manufacturing, petroleum, and food products by 2021. Therefore, express delivery services are gaining significance as global economy becomes increasingly integrated, owing to rapid growth in international trade services. This factor drives the growth of the express delivery market.  

Lack of infrastructure

The availability and quality of infrastructure is one of the key components in determining the express delivery environment of a country. It can be observed that in terms of infrastructure, express delivery services suffer from limited capacity and capability. These include significant inefficiencies in transport, poor condition of storage infrastructure, complex tax structure, low rate of technology adoption, and poor skills of delivery professionals. Poor road transportation infrastructure is one of the key issues affecting the express delivery market. Also, metropolis traffic congestion is a major issue in population concentrated in urban areas for express deliveries in the domestic market. In addition, airfreight transport is very important for express delivery of items, especially for international parcel deliveries that are time bound, thus lack of adequate airfreight may delay delivery. Moreover, as many countries lack postal codes and rely on local landmarks for addresses, shipping companies often have trouble delivering parcels successfully. Furthermore, factors, such as lack of skilled manpower, poor IT infrastructure, and over-reliance on cash-on-delivery (CoD) payment, also affect the growth of express delivery service in several countries across the world. Therefore, lack of infrastructure is anticipated to hinder the growth of the express delivery market.  

Emergence of last-mile deliveries with technological advancements in delivery vehicles

Last mile logistics refers to the final step of the delivery process from a distribution center or facility to the end-user. The provision of efficient express deliveries is witnessing a major upswing in the logistics industry with the continuous increase in proliferation of e-commerce companies. In addition, getting a package within the same day of delivery is almost common in the present day, results in the growth of the last mile delivery services. Moreover, rise in pharmaceuticals and food & beverages e-commerce industries are also witnessing a greater emphasis on last mile delivery options across express delivery service industries. In addition, automation has also been gaining traction in the express delivery industry. The inception of logistics 4.0 is one of the key logistics trends opening lucrative opportunities in the last-mile service industry. For instance, in July 2020, Movile Group, a mobile commerce platform company, announced a new investment in a Colombian last-mile delivery startup Mensajeros Urbanos. It aims to expand its operations in 10 major cities in Colombia and Mexico. The company will open 50 urban warehouses within the 10 cities it serves to reduce delivery time windows further and provide certain items for same-day delivery. Moreover, drone delivery and autonomous delivery vehicle technology is expected to open up new avenues in last-mile delivery transportation. As delivery autonomous vehicles are expected to address the consumer demands for efficient delivery at lower costs, the adoption is anticipated to gain considerable traction in future.   

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study presents analytical depiction of the global express delivery market analysis along with current trends and future estimations to depict imminent investment pockets.
• The overall global express delivery market opportunity is determined by understanding profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global express delivery market with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current global express delivery market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2030 to benchmark the financial competency.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.

Key Market Segments

By Application

• B2B
• B2C

By End-Use

• E-commerce platform
• Document service
• Others

By Destination

• Domestics
• International

By Region

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • UK
  • France
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• LAMEA
  • Latin America
  • Middle East
  • Africa

Key Players

• Aramex
• BEST Inc
• DB Schenker 
• Deutsche Post AG (DHL GROUP)
• DSV (DSV PANALPINA)
• FedEx
• Geodis
• SF Express
• United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)
• YTO Express Group Co.

  Express Delivery Market Report Highlights

Aspects	Details
By APPLICATION	B2B B2C
By END-USE	E-commerce platform Document service Others
By DESTINATION	Domestics International
By Region	North America  (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe  (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Russia, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific  (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) LAMEA  (Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Argentina, Rest of LAMEA)
Key Market Players	DEUTSCHE POST AG (DHL GROUP), S.F. HOLDING CO., LTD., DSV (DSV PANALPINA), FEDEX, UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC. (UPS), ARAMEX, GEODIS, BEST INC., C.H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE, INC., YTO EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Analyst Review

The express delivery market is expected to witness remarkable growth in the future, owing to the rise in preference for last-mile and same day deliveries in the e-commerce industry and surge in international cross-border trade activities.

For instance, according to Mr. Jani, the Chairman of the Express Industry Council of India, said that the air express industry, in particular, had matured with large-scale investments being made on infrastructure. Also, Sarna Yeung, partner of industry consultancy Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, said local accessibility of suppliers and urged logistics companies to expand their domestic distribution networks in the respective countries to reach as many end-customers as fast as possible, which is also driving the growth of the express delivery market..

Significant growth of the e-commerce industry coupled with rise in B2C deliveries and international trade services are the key factors driving the market growth. However, lack of infrastructure and higher operational costs are expected to hamper the market growth. Moreover, integration of advanced technologies in delivery services and emergence of last-mile deliveries along with advancement in delivery vehicles are some of the factors anticipated to foster the market growth.

Among the analyzed regions, Asia-Pacific is the highest revenue contributor, followed by Europe, LAMEA, and North America. On the basis of forecast analysis, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead during the forecast period, owing to the booming e-commerce industry in emerging economies, infrastructural development, and increased adoption of various express delivery services in the region.

Author Name(s) : Akshay Jadhav | Lalit Janardhan Katare

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