NOTAS: | Study for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs "The years from 2013 to 2016 have been characterized by two major opposing pressures in the postal sector: (i) letter volume decline, and (ii) growth in e-commerce packets/parcels volume. These contrasting pressures underpin different challenges for all stakeholders in the postal sector. Whereas letter volume decline has shaped the postal market and continues to drive changes, the growing e-commerce industry creates new opportunities and demands for the postal market to respond to and to minimise the negative impact of letter volume decline. The combination of strong letter volume decline and growth in parcel volumes has important operational and economic implications for postal networks. In several instances, it has also called for substantial changes in postal regulation." |