Introduction

The express industry is set to undergo drastic transition driven by growing globalization, deregulation of the postal sector, the wave of mergers and alliances and the booming e-commerce industry. This brief contains a strategic overview of the upcoming trends in the European express market and a detailed discussion of the positive and negative effects of these trends.

Scope

Globalisation: The rising need for faster transportation globally. Consolidation: Driven by the larger players, consolidation threatens the small players as well as the national operators. Deregulation: How will the likely full deregulation of the postal sector in 2009 affect the express market? Road and B2C sectors rising: Road express is growing at the expense of air, while e-commerce is increasing due to internet usage.

Highlights

The European express and parcel market is characterized by increasing consolidation, moderate growth rates and rising operational costs. Leading global players, UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT are expanding not only their activities in the core express services but also diversifying their portfolio to include air freight, sea freight and contract logistics. With the booming expansion of e-commerce, the international trade and B2C are expected to remain the fastest growth sectors over the coming years. The European express services are expected to reach $53.1 billion by 2010.

Reasons to Purchase

A comprehensive overview of the current and future trends in the European and Global express market. In-depth analysis of the positive and negative effects of these trends on the market and the operators. Discussion of the possible next steps express operators including small and national operators will take to adapt accordingly.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
CHAPTER 1 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW 8
1.1 Market Description 8
1.2 Market Size 9
1.3 Porter's Five Forces model 13
CHAPTER 2 GLOBALISATION AND CHANGING BUSINESS STRUCTURE 17
2.1 Overview 17
2.2 Effects of Globalization in Europe 18
2.3 What the Express players are doing 19
2.4 Changing business structures 20
2.5 Express Services support production efficiently 21
2.6 Expansion of express services 21
Major users of Express Services by sector 26
CHAPTER 3 CONSOLIDATION 27
3.1 Overview 27
3.2 Effects of consolidation 28
3.2.1 Convergence 28
3.2.2 Value Adding 28
3.2.3 Pressure grows on medium-sized operators 29
3.3 Consolidation trends in Germany 29
3.4 Consolidation trends in the UK market 30
3.5 Major acquisitions in Europe 30
3.6 Company portfolio of the key postal operators in Europe 31
CHAPTER 4 DEREGULATION AND PRIVATIZATION 34
4.1 Overview 34
4.2 The deregulation procedure 34
4.3 The likely effects of postal liberalization 35
4.3.2 Competition and focus on core competence 35
4.3.3 Services 36
4.3.4 Prices 36
4.4 Competition development - parcel and express services 36
4.5 Switch to advance technology 36
4.5.1 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) 37
4.5.2 GPS satellite technology 38
4.5.3 POD tracking 38
4.5.4 Alternative tracking systems 39
4.5.5 Tracking internet portal 39
CHAPTER 5 SLOWER AIR EXPRESS GROWTH, ROAD NETWORKS TO EXPAND 41
5.1 Overview 41
5.2 TNT develops its European road network 42
5.3 DHL road network 42
5.4 UPS, FedEx focus on air express in Europe 42
5.5 DPD and GLS expand coverage 43
5.6 Road express growing in Spain 43
CHAPTER 6 GROWING E-COMMERCE 45
6.1 Overview 45
6.2 E-commerce driving B2C growth 45
6.3 E-commerce growth in Europe 47
6.4 B2C driving the express sector growth 47
6.5 What the Express players are doing 47
List of Tables
Table 1: Express industry prospects 8
Table 2: Top 10 Shipments by Air, Ranked by Value: US 1997 24
Table 3: Major users of Express service 26
Table 4: M&A activities of private equity companies in Europe (Transportation & Logistics) 27
Table 5: Company Portfolio of key postal operators in Europe 31
Table 6: Forecasts of total e-commerce (B2B & B2C) USD Billion 45
List of Figures
Figure 1: EU 9 - 2006 Segmentation by service level 10
Figure 2: EU 9 - 2006 Segmentation by destination of the shipments 11
Figure 3: EU 9 -2006 Segmentation by the type of recipients 12
Figure 4: Generic Porter's five force model 13
Figure 5: European Express Value growth 2001-2006 (€ million) 22
Figure 6: Express Industry Main Client Sectors (Europe) 23
Figure 7: Semiconductor billings worldwide 25
Figure 8: Growth of B2C market globally ($ Billion) 46