Highlights

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

  1. The 19,546 active establishments in the couriers and local messengers industry in 2008 generated $8.7 billion in operating revenue, up 4.2% from $8.4 billion in 2007.
  2. Operating expenses reached $7.9 billion, an increase of 5.4% compared to 2007. The largest increases in operating expenses were the depreciation expenses with a 12.0% increase, followed by the other operating expenses with an 11.0% increase and the rental and leasing expenses with an 8.6% increase.
  3. The industry's operating margin reached $879 million, down 5.5% over 2007. Also, the operating ratio (operating expenses divided by operating revenue) moved up from 0.89 to 0.90.
  4. The Couriers segment accounted for $7.2 billion in operating revenue, 5.5% higher than the previous year. The 1,987 courier establishments showed average operating revenue of $3.6 million and an operating ratio of 0.92.
  5. The 17,559 establishments included in the local messengers segment reported $1.6 billion in operating revenue in 2008, down 1.2% from 2007. Those establishments averaged operating revenue of $88,000 each and an operating ratio of 0.82.
  6. Overall, establishments belonging to large and medium-sized businesses (businesses with revenue of $1 million or more) delivered over 713 million pieces, generating just over $6.9 billion in delivery revenue.
  7. "Next-day / overnight services" generated the most revenue, 54% of the total, while "two days or more / other delivery services" handled the largest number of pieces, 49% of the total. Finally, "same day services", the main activity of the local messenger establishments, accounted for about 10% of both delivery revenue and number of pieces.
  8. Ontario has remained the dominant region in the industry in terms of delivery revenue based on shipment collection location, generating 46% of the revenue.
  9. Shipments to Canadian destinations accounted for 84% of total delivery revenue.
  10. Establishments belonging to large and medium-sized businesses had over 55,000 employees and over 18,000 independent operators. They also used around 35,000 vehicles and other equipment.

About this publication

This bulletin provides information on the couriers and local messengers industry. While it focuses mainly on the results of the 2008 reference year, it includes data tables for reference year 2007.

Notes to Users

The data on characteristics published in this bulletin (number of packages, origin and destination, equipment and employment) apply solely to establishments belonging to businesses that generated annual revenue of $1 million or more from their courier and local messenger activities. More specifically, this definition applies to tables 4 to 6 and 10 to 12.

The reference year 2008 was the final release of the Survey of the Couriers and Local Messengers Industry as the survey has been discontinued.