Amazon is catching up to the U.S. Postal Service as largest package carrier
The Pitney Bowes findings echo earlier research from parcel management and consulting firm ShipMatrix Inc. It put domestic parcel revenue at $188 billion and average revenue per parcel at $8. Domestic parcel volumes will grow at a compound annual rate of 4% over the next three years, with Amazon, Walmart and other carriers winning the lion’s share of new business. FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service will likely experience flat to negative growth, ShipMatrix said.
The U.S. Postal Service retained its hold as the largest parcel carrier by volume with 6.9 billion shipments in 2024, an increase of 3.4% from the prior year, per Pitney Bowes. UPS volume increased 1.7% to 4.7 billion pieces. FedEx was the only carrier to experience a year-over-year decline, with 3.9 billion parcels compared to 3.7 billion in 2023. The combined volume for other small couriers jumped 23% to 800 million pieces.
The Postal Service is the market share leader by volume at 31%. Amazon moved up a point to 28% of the market, followed by UPS with a 21% share. FedEx’s market share fell a point to 17%, while “other” carriers moved from 3% to 3.5%.
