Today, September 7, 2006, the National Regulatory Authority for Communications has published the 2005 Statistical Data Report for the Postal Services Market, which is based on the reports sent by 184 providers of postal services. The report reveals that, last year, 22 domestic postal items per capita were processed in Romania, as compared to only 19, in 2004.
In 2005, the providers reported 490 million postal items, 96% of which were domestic postal items and the rest were cross-border postal items. In 2005, the domestic postal traffic increased by 17.55%, to 472 million postal items, from 402 million, in 2004.
The highest concentration of active providers emerged on the letter post segment, where more than 83 companies provide services such as: items of correspondence, printed matter, small parcels and direct mail items weighing up to 2 kg. In 2005, the postal traffic on the letter post segment represented 94.85% of the total postal traffic, i.e. approx. 465 million items, 97% of which were domestic and the rest – cross-border.
The market of Express services witnessed the steepest growing trend, registering by 410% more postal items than in 2004. The soaring of Express services indicates the preference for high quality of an increasing number of Romanians, who chose postal services that ensure safe and rapid delivery and considered the higher tariffs of Express services of a lesser importance.
By the end of 2005, 190 providers were authorised on the postal services market, by 37.68% more than in 2004. 129 of these (i.e. 67.89%) did not actually operate on last year’s market.
The postal infrastructure is developing, as revealed by the fact that – although a provider must not necessarily use an infrastructure of its own in the postal activity – most of the operators deploy their own postal networks. Thus, during 2005, 153 of the authorised providers notified ANRC on the capacity of processing postal items through their own postal networks, 34 used both their own postal networks and third parties’ networks, and 3 – exclusively third parties’ networks.
In 2005, the number of employees in the postal sector exceeded 43,000, 84.15% of which worked for the National Company “Posta Romana“, while the rest worked in the private sector. As compared to 2004, in 2005, the number of employees in the private postal sector rose by approx. 44%.
The Report on the development of the Romanian postal services market in 2005, published today by ANRC, is available here, on the authority’s website.