Ship Happens - Seeking Alpha
Despite what you've heard about the demise of the US postal service, sending stuff is still very big business. According to eMarketer, US e-commerce sales in 2012 will grow by 13% over 2011 totals, reaching $343.4 billion by the year's end. They go on to forecast continued steady growth going forward, albeit at a declining rate of 1% per year, as the US market reaches saturation.
While the outlook for freight companies is good, there are concerns as a recent spike in fuel prices was blamed for driving up FedEx's (FDX) operation costs by 28%. Analysts cite this and decreasing postal deliveries due to increased use of online communications for concern about future performance of FedEx and UPS (UPS), as well as weak Asian demand for express services.
Despite what you've heard about the demise of the US postal service, sending stuff is still very big business. According to eMarketer, US e-commerce sales in 2012 will grow by 13% over 2011 totals, reaching $343.4 billion by the year's end. They go on to forecast continued steady growth going forward, albeit at a declining rate of 1% per year, as the US market reaches saturation.
While the outlook for freight companies is good, there are concerns as a recent spike in fuel prices was blamed for driving up FedEx's (FDX) operation costs by 28%. Analysts cite this and decreasing postal deliveries due to increased use of online communications for concern about future performance of FedEx and UPS (UPS), as well as weak Asian demand for express services.
