With a profound history in the logistics and transportation industry, Germany maintains a diverse, dynamic, and well-established parcel market. A multitude of economic and political factors have contributed to the development of the parcel market in Germany. As a result,
. Over the recent two decades, the courier, express, and parcel services (CEP) market in Germany experienced a flourishing period, growing more than two times in
, reaching 23.5 billion euros in 2020. Similarly, the number of parcels more than doubled during the same timespan,
Major players in the German parcel market
The existence of numerous small and medium-sized firms is one of the main factors strengthening the German parcel market. More than 12,000 companies are active in the CEP market in Germany, with the highest
concentration of firms in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Deutsche Post DHL,
Hermes Group, and
DPD Group are the three leading companies operating in the German parcel market. Despite the intensity of competition and forces of innovation on firms performing in the CEP industry in Germany, companies were able to retain somewhat similar
revenue per shipment over the last two decades. When analyzing the disaggregated revenue streams in the CEP market in Germany,
parcel services bring in the most revenue.
What the future holds in light of innovations
Innovations are one of the main drivers of continuously increasing returns to scale. The history of economies demonstrated increasing returns on innovation expenditures. Firms operating in Germany’s CEP market continuously invest in research and development to innovate and retain high earnings. Consequently, we can observe a positive
innovation expenditure in the German CEP market as an investment in future returns, with over 250 million euros each year on average. With more innovations coming in, digitalization structurally transforms social and economic life across countries, inducing more reliance on the internet or smart devices to carry out daily or business activities. During the last decade, business to customers (B2C) sales segment increasingly captured the
share of parcel shipments in Germany, holding roughly two-thirds of total parcel shipments in the country. The increase in B2C sales suggests the increasing role of direct sales from businesses to customers. According to a 2021 study, which includes the coronavirus impact, the
German CEP market is projected to reach over 32 billion euros by 2025.
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