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Logistics giants net record revenue

The e-commerce boom is set to continue beyond the pandemic with UPS, DHL, USPS and FedEx reporting over $300 billion in revenue for the 2020 financial year.

Trackr app co-founder Ernestas Petkevicius, who analysed the figures, said this wouldn’t be the last record-breaking numbers.

“This is likely the direction that e-commerce-related sectors will continue to follow while having to deal with constantly arising new challenges,” he said.

However, the future of logistics in the 2021 financial year would not always be smooth sailing.

“As more and more logistics-related tasks are shifting online, one of the biggest challenges in the next 10 years will be the expansion of logistic centres and their ability to adapt,” Ernestas said.

According to the data, UPS reported the highest revenue increase of 14.20 per cent, resulting in a $84.6 billion dollar profit.

DHL scored a revenue of $80.41 billion, followed by USPS with $73.1 billion and FedEx with $69.2 billion in 2020.

As online shopping continues to give people a sense of safety in these unprecedented times, carriers are estimating they will continue to grow and benefit from the ongoing eCommerce boom.

With USPS finding package volume had increased by 18.8 per cent in comparison to 2019, logistic centres had to battle disruptions in the workforce, fast changes in the marketplace and the urgent need for supplements for safety precautions – which reflected a shift in consumer behaviour.

The record-breaking revenue has also had an effect on the stock market, with FedEx improving its stock price to $254.36 from February 10 last year to the same time this year – the highest ever.

UPS exceeded its financial expectations last year and expects to continue to grow while DHL Group expects EBIT to not only grow this financial year but be exceeded again in 2022.

Written by Emilie Baxter 

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