Luxembourg Postal Services Turnover Up 4.5% to €192m in 2021

The statistical and market watch department of the Luxembourg Institute for Regulation (ILR) has published a statistical report on the postal services market in Luxembourg for 2021.

The statistical report presents the key figures concerning courier services, parcel services and the postal service on the basis of various indicators, such as turnover, volume, jobs and quality of the services provided. The report is based on data provided by 31 service providers active in the Luxembourg postal services market in 2021. The report notes that six new service providers have applied for inclusion in the public register, one of them is among the top eight parcel service providers.

The turnover of the postal services market reached €192.10 million in 2021, an increase of 4.5% compared to 2020. It is divided between the turnover of mail items amounting to €111.6 million (down 1.4%) and the turnover of parcel services totaling €80.53 million (up 14%). The share of parcel services revenue increased to 41.9% of the postal sector total in 2021, up 10 points since 2018.

Mail services represented 152.75 million units, down 1.8% compared to 2020. The fall of 5% annual rate over the 2018-2021 period marks a continuous decline in mail traffic, however, the report notes that this decline is less marked in 2021 compared to previous years. The designated universal service provider, Post Luxembourg, handles more than 95% of the total volume.

Parcel services totaled 15.36 million units, a significant increase of 13.8% compared to 2021. The growth of the parcel services market is mainly supported by the market for incoming cross-border services which recorded a net increase with a volume of 12.31 million units (up 11.8%). This trend, linked to the development of "B2C" e-commerce, is based on an annual rate of 15.6% over the period of 2018-2021. Parcel services are provided by 21 service providers, three of which each handle a volume of more than 10% of the total volume.

The postal sector employs nearly 1,900 people, a level comparable to 2020. The designated provider of the universal postal service, POST Luxembourg employs nearly 1,300 people, or 69% of jobs in the sector.

Regarding access to postal services, 106 Post Luxembourg points of sale and 88 of other service providers are located in Luxembourg. The number of POST Luxembourg automatic distribution points (pack up) increased to 131 in 2021, i.e. 40 points more since 2018; this trend echoes the dynamism of parcel traffic.

The full report is available online via https://web.ilr.lu/FR/Professionnels/Services-postaux/Statistiques/Rapports/Pages/default.aspx.