Publication of figures for 2023 for the letters and parcels markets
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.04.02
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published its postal market data for 2023 in the Letters Market Report 2024 and the Parcels Market Report 2024. The figures are based on the annual market survey in the postal sector, with the figures for 2024 based on postal operators’ estimates.
Letters market
The downward trend in letter volumes continued in 2023. The number of letters conveyed fell from 11.93bn in 2022 to 10.92bn in 2023, which was a slightly larger decrease than in previous years. Letters market revenue also continued to decline. Revenue in 2023 amounted to €7.31bn, compared with about €7.87bn in 2022.
The operators anticipate a further decrease in volumes and revenue in 2024.
Deutsche Post DHL remains the dominant company in the letters market. There was a slight increase in the operator’s market share to 87%. The remaining share of 13% is accounted for by the other companies operating in the market, whose business model is designed primarily for business customers. All the analyses show a very high level of market concentration in the letters market for Deutsche Post DHL and point to monopolistic structures. The Bundesnetzagentur will continue to follow developments in this sector closely.
Parcels market
There was a slight increase in revenue and volumes in the parcels market in 2023. The total number of domestic and international parcels conveyed increased by just under 2.54% from 4.25bn in 2022 to 4.36bn in 2023. Revenue in the parcels market also increased by around 4.24% from €18.41bn in 2022 to €19.19bn in 2023.
Parcel service providers forecast a total revenue of €20.56bn for 2024, which would be an increase of around 7%.
Competitive conditions in the parcels market are much more heterogeneous than in the letters market. In the parcels market there are large differences between the business customer and private customer segments. There are several relevant players in the business customer segment, creating a more competitive structure. By contrast, the private customer segment is marked by a very high degree of market concentration attributable to Deutsche Post DHL. As in the letters market, the company accounts for the majority of the volume in the private customer segment of the parcels market.
The reports (in German) have been published on the Bundesnetzagentur website at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/post-marktberichte.