Not a day goes by at Plimsoll's office without one of the country's leading Couriers knocking on the door to deliver something. It seems the gold rush to deliver the nations online purchases shows no sign of abating and demand continues to soar…..but all is not as rosy as it seems.
Most of the UK's top 10 Couriers have invested heavily to ensure they avoid losing out in such a cut throat market. Collectively they have spent billions to keep up with demand and now have a lot of capacity to fill. With increased competition and pricing pressure, margins have tumbled for many. It could be a rocky 2016 for some of these companies:
| Sales Growth | Pre-tax Margin | |
|---|---|---|
| ROYAL MAIL GROUP LTD | 0% | 5% |
| DPDGROUP UK LTD | 77% | 12% |
| UPS LTD | 10% | 7% |
| TNT UK LTD | -2% | -7% |
| DHL INTERNATIONAL (UK) LTD | 9% | 2% |
| WHISTL UK LTD | 3% | -1% |
| UK MAIL GROUP PLC | -5% | 4% |
| YODEL LOGISTICS LTD | 3% | -19% |
| HERMES PARCELNET LTD | 16% | 8% |
| DX GROUP LTD | 2% | 18% |
Online Retailers, faced with their own competitive pressure, are increasingly unwilling to compromise their fast delivery promises. With the likes of Amazon rumoured to be looking at their own delivery networks, could one of the UK's top 10 Couriers follow CityLink into administration in 2016?
Each of these key players has been analysed in the new Plimsoll Analysis – Couriers. For more information click here and visit our dedicated website.
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