RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/W/79
8 December 1998
(98-5006)
Council for Trade in Services Original:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES
Express Delivery Services
The following communication received from the delegation of the United States was
circulated informally on 25 June 1998 to the Members of the Council for Trade in Services to assist in
the discussion on Express Delivery Services in the context of the Information Exchange Programme.
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Express delivery companies specialize in fast, reliable transportation services for documents,
packages, and freight.  Because they provide integrated, door-to-door delivery, they are affected by all
governmental policies that apply to the distribution chain.
The hallmark of the express delivery service sector is the just-in-time shipment of goods.  The
consumer determines the just-in-time nature of the shipment and pays a premium for either shipping
or receiving the good on a just-in-time basis.  Government measures that impede the just-in-time
nature of the service effectively prevent the supply of the service.  For the express delivery sector,
just-in-time in most cases means the next business day and, in almost all cases, by the second business
day.  Although the just-in-time concept is not new, the emergence of the express delivery industry has
revolutionised the way companies do business worldwide and has given a broad-based application tothe concept.  Producers using supplies from overseas no longer need to maintain costly inventories,
nor do business persons need to wait extended periods of time for important documents.  Waste due to
obsolescence and seasonality is almost entirely eliminated.
In the United States alone, the sector generates revenues of over $50 billion and employs
more than 400,000 workers.  The industry has aver aged 20 percent annual growth for the past two
decades.  As the industry is labour- and capital-intensive, its expansion creates more jobs and
investment in all countries serviced by the sector.  The industry's explosive growth is reflected in the
rapid expansion of air cargo shipments:  the expe dited movement of cargo by air now accounts for
37 per cent of the value of world trade, a share which is expected to continue to increase.
The express delivery industry underpins future growth in trade, as more and more of world
trade is centered on the type of high-value goods that are carried by this industry, such as electronics,
computers and computer parts, software, optics, precision equipment, medicine, medical supplies,
pharmaceuticals, aircraft and auto parts, avionics, fashions, and high-value perishables.  In addition,the industry encourages small and medium-sized busin esses to grow by enabling them to participate
in international trade.  The express delivery sector, with its integrated services providing door-to-door
delivery, frees small businesses from the burdensome and costly tasks of arranging for the
transportation of their goods through a myriad of unrelated and often disparate parties.
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