A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package, or letter from one place or person to another, and the industry built around that service is distinguished from ordinary mail by its speed, security, tracking, signature confirmation, and specialized, individualized express handling, operating at every scale from local city delivery to global networks. Major international operators include DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT Express, EMS International, Aramex, DTDC, Purolator, India Post, Delhivery, and J&T Express, most organized around a hub-and-spoke distribution model to achieve worldwide coverage. In the United States alone the courier industry generates 59 billion dollars in revenue, with Amazon Logistics, DHL, FedEx, and UPS together accounting for 90 percent of the business, while regional and local courier services remain highly fragmented, the top fifty firms together holding only about a third of sector revenue. The rise of e-commerce has driven much of the industry's recent growth, with Amazon itself emerging as a direct competitor to established logistics providers such as FedEx.
A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package, or letter from one place or person to another, and the industry built around that service is distinguished from ordinary mail by its speed, security, tracking, signature confirmation, and specialized, individualized express handling, operating at every scale from local city delivery to global networks. Major international operators include DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT Express, EMS International, Aramex, DTDC, Purolator, India Post, Delhivery, and J&T Express, most organized around a hub-and-spoke distribution model to achieve worldwide coverage. In the United States alone the courier industry generates 59 billion dollars in revenue, with Amazon Logistics, DHL, FedEx, and UPS together accounting for 90 percent of the business, while regional and local courier services remain highly fragmented, the top fifty firms together holding only about a third of sector revenue. The rise of e-commerce has driven much of the industry's recent growth, with Amazon itself emerging as a direct competitor to established logistics providers such as FedEx.