US parcel revenue sees first decline in 7 years, report finds

Amazon nearly tripled its shipping volumes from 2019 to 2023 — from 2 billion to 5.9 billion parcels — but it lags behind in terms of revenue. It generated $28.6 billion in revenue, less than half of UPS’ $68.9 billion and FedEx’s $63.2 billion, which Pitney Bowes says foreshadows “a secular shift in the economics of last mile delivery towards smaller parcels and cost-effective shipping services.”

“Despite the continued aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent inflation, and pessimistic economic perceptions, consumer spending remains resilient, primarily via a growing demand for affordable goods from global marketplaces. The result is an influx of smaller, less-
expensive, lightweight packages which drive up volumes at a lower rate of revenue-per-piece,” Shemin Nurmohamed, a Pitney Bowes executive vice president and president, said in the report. 

UPS had the largest parcel revenue market share with 35% of the market followed by FedEx with 32%. The Postal Service maintained its share with 16% and Amazon increased two percentage points to 14%.

Carrier volume

Pitney Bowes found:

• The Postal Service handled 6.6 billion parcels, a nearly 1% decrease from 2022.
• Amazon handled 5.6 billion parcels, up 15.7% from 2022.
• UPS handled 4.6 billion parcels, down 10.3% from 2022.
• FedEx handled 3.9 billion parcels, down 6.1% from 2022.
• The “others” category handled 600 million parcels, a 28.5% increase from 2022.

Carrier revenue

Pitney Bowes found:

• UPS generated $68.9 billion, down 6.4% from 2022.
• FedEx generated $63.2 billion, down 3.1% from 2022.
• The Postal Service generated $31.7 billion, up 0.08% from 2022.
• Amazon generated $28.6 billion, up 19% from 2022. 
• The “others” category generated $5.6 billion, up 32.5% from 2022.