The express transport market - Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

Express transport refers to door-to-door delivery of goods within the country or abroad, in a shorter period of time than conventional transport, by land, sea, air or rail.

There are three categories of messaging based on delivery time [SDES]:

• The traditional courier, which undertakes to deliver parcels between 24 and 72 hours;
• The fast messaging: the package is collected before 18:00 for delivery in D+1 before 18:00;
• Express transport requires shorter delivery times: delivery is generally made before 12:00 with collection the night before. It guarantees the respect of the deadlines, the monitoring in real time of the shipment routing and the complete management of the administrative and customs formalities.

However, the difference between fast messaging and express transport remains small, so that fast messaging can sometimes be integrated into express freight

The global mail market is growing and is expected to continue to develop in the coming years. The express segment is also growing, driven by the dynamic flows of B2B and the growth of e-commerce. The Italian freight and courier market is following this upward trend, driven in particular by the segment of express transport of light parcels by road, which represents a considerable share of the total in terms of both volume and value. The sector is also developing through significant innovations in the delivery service experience (fast shipping, accurate and reliable tracking, etc.).