The UK letters market 2000-2003 (published January 2004)

This market report (pdf, 952 KB) gave information on:

  1. Key features of the postal market between 2000 and 2003 (28 billion items per year were handled by postal operators; business customers sent approximately 86% of all Royal Mail addressed mail; 67% of all addressed mail was received by domestic customers; 81% of mail originated from urban areas; mail volumes have grown consistently over time, with changes in demand linked closely to the general performance of the economy; demand has shifted from the standard postal product at public prices, to products that offer a discount for customers performing part of the sortation and "upstream" activity themselves.)
  2. Royal Mail's performance
  3. The development of competition
  4. Legal barriers to further competition (Royal Mail's special privileges include an exemption from VAT, customs privileges and parking/traffic privileges.) 
  5. Economic barriers to competition, including economies of scale or scope, and the benefits to Royal Mail that come from its role as a universal service provider.
  6. An update on the access situation 

It was followed later by more detailed assessments of the state of competition in the postal market: