The annual report from Pitney Bowes reveals that U.S. parcel revenue experienced its first decline in seven years, despite a slight increase in parcel volume. Parcel revenue fell marginally by 0.03% from $198.4 billion in 2022 to $197.9 billion in 2023, while parcel volume increased by 0.05% from 21.5 billion to 21.7 billion.

Although all four major carriers—U.S. Postal Service, Amazon, UPS, and FedEx—experienced shifts, only Amazon saw significant volume growth at 15.7%. However, UPS and FedEx faced declines in both parcel volume and revenue. Amazon, while significantly increasing its shipping volumes, generated less revenue compared to UPS and FedEx, indicating a shift towards smaller parcels and cost-effective shipping services.

The report attributes these trends to consumer demand for affordable goods from global marketplaces, resulting in an increase in smaller, less expensive packages. UPS led in parcel revenue market share with 35%, followed by FedEx with 32%, while the Postal Service and Amazon maintained their shares.

Regarding carrier volume, the Postal Service handled 6.6 billion parcels, Amazon 5.6 billion, UPS 4.6 billion, and FedEx 3.9 billion. In terms of revenue, UPS generated $68.9 billion, FedEx $63.2 billion, the Postal Service $31.7 billion, and Amazon $28.6 billion. The “others” category saw a notable increase in both volume and revenue.