The express transport market - Brazil (2023)

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

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

There are three categories of delivery based on their time frame:

• Traditional mail, which undertakes to deliver packages between 24 and 72 hours
• Express mail: the package is picked up before 6:00 p.m. for a delivery on D+1 before 6:00 p.m
• Express transport: it requires shorter delivery times and is generally done before 12:00, with recovery of the package the evening before. It ensures that deadlines are met, real-time tracking of the shipment and complete management of administrative and customs formalities.

However, there is little difference between express mail and express transport, so express mail can sometimes be integrated with express transport. The global mail market is growing and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. The express segment is also growing, thanks to the dynamism of business-to-business flows and the growth of e-commerce.

The delivery market in Brazil is essentially monopolized by the federal government's postal service, which is responsible for delivery services to 88.6% of the country's virtual stores[Brazilian E-Commerce Association]. Only the public company delivers to all Brazilian cities, while the other carriers are concentrated in the major urban centers. This is mainly due to the continental dimension of the country and the lack of infrastructure that makes transportation to some small places more expensive. Nevertheless, other national and international players such as Jadlog, Total Express, Transfolha, DHL, Shippify and Loggi also operate in the Brazilian market. Recently, sectors of society have been discussing a possible proposal to privatize the post office, as well as a new regulation for the delivery sector. In this context, new and old players should be aware of these possible changes, in order to better adapt to the new market models.