UPU 2024 State of the Postal Sector report shows challenges ahead

By Linn’s Staff

An April 14 press release from the Universal Postal Union announced the publication of the UPU’s 2024 State of the Postal Sector report.

“As the Universal Postal Union celebrates its 150th anniversary, the international postal network is facing an existential question: Is it able and willing to pivot its mission, policies, and ways of working to embrace the latest technological revolution, or will it maintain the status quo?” the UPU said.

The report seeks to answer this question through an extensive analysis of almost 150 years of postal trends.

“One of the [report’s] key findings shows that despite the sector’s massively expanded reach since the 19th century, it has erased almost all its gains in the share of cross-border postal volumes,” the UPU said.

According to the UPU press release, UPU economist Jose Anson, who conducted the study, said that maintaining the status quo “will almost certainly lead to the UPU’s extinction.”

“Our member countries, government regulators, designated operators, I think, are conscious that they are living through a critical juncture now,” the UPU quoted Anson as saying.

Nonetheless, the report looked at two other more positive scenarios.

The first, “resilience,” focuses on logistics while “forgoing integrated financial and digital services, which would keep internationalization rates low,” according to the UPU.

“The best-case scenario, with a dramatic transformation of systems and regulations, however, could usher in a ‘Renaissance,’ with internationalization rates rebounding to peak levels within a couple of decades and the postal sector emerging as the leader in cross-border services,” according to the UPU’s press release about the report.

Despite the challenges of advances in communication technology and the advent of global express companies in the 1980s, there is still a need for international mail.

“Still, a need exists for international mail, the report notes, such as for legal documents and niche markets,” the UPU said. “The report even noted that a resurgence in popularity of postal mail could appear with younger generations who may experience digital fatigue.”

“However, the challenges remain clear,” the UPU said. “Demand for international parcels and small packets saw a nearly 60 percent drop by 2024 from the 2019 peak as domestic demand increased and international deliveries faced regulatory, taxation and security issues, among other challenges.”

Overall, the international postal sector must embrace large-scale change and “technological innovations, such as automation and real-time tracking systems to improve efficiency,” the UPU said.

In addition, the sector must “invest in infrastructure in least developed countries to expand international connectivity and improve service delivery to foster greater economic participation and development,” according to the UPU.

For more information, visit the UPU website.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter