Pitney Bowes’ Parcel Shipping Index shows China parcels up only 2% in FY22

Pitney Bowes released their Global Parcel Shipping Index, unveiling ’22 data from 13 major countries worldwide. The Index highlights that global parcel volume reached 161 billion in ’22, equivalent to 5,102 parcels shipped every second marking a 1% increase from ’21. Notably, the Index reveals China’s parcels experienced the slowest growth in its history, reaching 111B parcels in ’22, with only a 2% increase. The Index estimates parcel volume will most likely reach 225B by 2028, with a 6% CAGR ’23-’28, a change from 8% forecasted last year. “China parcel volume had maintained a double-digit growth rate every year from ’13 to ’21. However, in ’22, COVID-related lockdowns caused a sharp slowdown,” stated Gregg Zegras, Executive Vice President, Global Ecommerce at Pitney Bowes. “As the world’s second-largest economy, China is experiencing a frail pace of growth during its COVID recovery. We’re seeing volume slowdown, declining ecommerce sales, and an overall weak economy, projecting a 7 % parcel volume CAGR ’23 -’28.” Pre-pandemic China parcel volume forecast was 25 percent CAGR ’18-’22 and actual volume growth was lower, at 22 percent CAGR ’18-’22…Only the US, Brazil, India, and Australia saw growth in parcel revenue, with the US leading in carrier revenue with 7% growth in ’22. Revenue per parcel varied significantly, with Canada highest at $9.8, followed by the US at $9.3 and France at $9.1. Despite lower volume, the US generated more revenue than China due to a significantly higher fee per parcel – almost seven times that of China. China’s revenue per parcel is $1.4, the lowest globally, followed by India at $1.7 and Norway at $1.9.