Global Parcel Volume Forecast

A logistics and financial services provider in the U.S., Pitney Bowes, released data indicating that the global parcel volume is projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% between 2022 and 2027. By 2027, the global parcel volume is expected to reach 256 billion. Pitney Bowes further predicts that growth in global parcel volume will remain low in 2023 but will rebound to mid-to-high levels in 2024.

Brett Cody, Global E-commerce Communications Director at Pitney Bowes, noted that the rapid expansion of the e-commerce market in recent years has driven sustained global growth in parcel volumes. Cody added that while there is a strong connection between e-commerce sales and parcel volumes, the surge in parcel numbers during the early stages of the pandemic was largely due to the increase in curbside pickup and, more recently, the impact of inflation.

In 2021, Pitney Bowes analyzed data from 13 major global markets and calculated that the total parcel volume reached 159 billion, a 21% increase from the 131 billion recorded in 2020. Meanwhile, total revenue for shipping companies rose to $491.5 billion, up 17% from $420 billion in 2020.

Among the 13 markets, China, the United States, and Japan accounted for 87% of the global parcel volume and 77% of the global parcel revenue in 2021. Researchers found that China generated 108 billion parcels in 2021, surpassing the combined total of all other markets. It became the first country to exceed 100 billion parcels in a single year.