Australia Post delivers record-breaking 52 million parcels

Australia Post has delivered a record-breaking 52 million parcels as online shopping swelled in December, showing an increase of nearly 20 per cent from the year before.

This marks the biggest month for the postal service company in its 211 year history.

Nineteen days into December, more than two million parcels were delivered across the country. During the same month, over 21 million customer were also served at AusPost’s more than 4000 Post Offices, including regional and remote locations.

The company also said they used up to 20 dedicated freighters and additional cargo space on limited passenger flights, uplifting more than 7400 tonnes of airfreight, which is 76 per cent higher compared to the same month of the previous year.

On its busiest night, Australia Post also recorded carrying more than 490 tonnes of airfreight.

Acting Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rodney Boys said in a statement that while the organisation had predicted it would be Australia Post’s busiest Christmas ever, it exceeded expectations.

“There is no denying that online shopping grew strongly through 2020, and this reached a new level in December as millions of people chose to buy their Christmas gifts online,” said Boys.

“Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, social distancing and reduced domestic flights coupled with significantly higher parcel volumes, meant that delivering Christmas 2020 for all Australians was always going to be incredibly challenging,” he said.

Boys said they have prepared extensively, opening 60 new or re-purposed facilities, adding 3000 vehicles and putting on additional dedicated planes, all to keep delivering for customers.

He continued that 2700 posties undertook additional training with over 2000 transitioning to deliver parcels in vans and an extra 5000 people were recruited.

“These results were only made possible through the absolute commitment and dedication of our incredible team and our licensed post office and delivery contractor partners across the country that worked tirelessly under difficult circumstances for their communities to deliver a truly phenomenal Christmas,” he said.

Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher MP, said AusPost staff should be congratulated for the way they have risen to the challenge of unprecedented demand and delivered a record 52 million parcels during December.

“This was in part made possible as a result of the regulatory relief approved by the Morrison Government in 2020, which allowed Australia Post more operational flexibility to meet community demand for parcels and essential services,” the minister said.

In December, parcel volumes were buoyed as Australians bought up big on food and liquor, fashion, and home and garden products up 50 per cent, 37 per cent and 36 per cent respectively compared to December 2019. Fashion accessories, adventure and sporting items and books also proved popular with strong growth compared to November.

Source: Australia Post newsroom