India reports 18% parcel volume growth in 2022

Coming off two-years of pandemic-fuelled growth, India’s parcel volumes increased to 18 percent in 2022 from 8 percent in 2021 and the country is leading the pack with the highest growth in parcel volumes, surpassing all other countries measured in the Pitney Bowes Index, including the US, UK, China, Germany, Japan, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, France, and Canada.

“This remarkable achievement is a testament to India's booming ecommerce industry and its focus on embracing digital transformation,” reads the Pitney Bowes release.

In 2022, India shipped, received, and returned 3.2 billion parcels, surpassing the expectations of pre-pandemic forecasts. This staggering figure represents a substantial increase from the 8 percent growth witnessed in 2021, illustrating the accelerated momentum of ecommerce activities.

With an average of 8.8 million parcels shipped each day, amounting to 102 parcels per second, India demonstrates its position as a thriving market for both domestic and international parcel shipping. The per capita parcel volume in India experienced a substantial surge, from a single-digit 7 percent increase in 2021 to an impressive 16 percent growth 2022. This surge translated to an average of 10 parcels shipped per household in 2022, reflecting the growing reliance on ecommerce for the daily needs of Indian families.

"After a sharp decline in parcel volume at -21 percent in 2020 and marginal growth of 8 percent in 2021, it’s fitting to see India’s recovery with the highest surge in global parcel volume at 18 percent, indicating a future brimming with opportunities for India’s ecommerce ecosystem,” said Pankaj Sachdeva, managing director, India innovation, Pitney Bowes. “The substantial increase in India’s per capita parcel volume further demonstrates the growing reliance on ecommerce for the daily needs of Indian families".

The Index further revealed that the global parcel volumes increased by 1 percent in 2022, impacted largely due to the lockdowns in China. China parcels grew at the slowest rate in Index history, hitting 111 billion parcels in 2022, marking only a 2 percent growth due to lockdowns and COVID outbreaks. China’s parcel volume had grown at a CAGR of 23 percent CAGR ’17- ‘22. Pre-pandemic China parcel volume CAGR ‘18-22 forecast was 25 percent and actual CAGR ‘18-22 was 22 percent.

The Index estimates parcel volume in India will most likely reach 5 billion by 2028, with a 6.5 percent CAGR ‘23-’28.

Overall, all in India carriers saw an increase in revenue in 2022 from 2021. SafeEx generated the highest revenue of $874 million with YOY growth of 12 percent, followed by BlueDart at $855 million and Delhivery at $634 million, DTDC at $512 million, followed by Amazon Logistics at $498 million.