2017 Postal Sector Report
In its special report entitled ‘Post 2017: Abolish Privileges, Make Regulation Effective!’, the Monopolies Commission notes that there has been little progress in the development of competition in the national letter markets. These markets continue to be dominated by Deutsche Post AG; effective competition has not yet developed. Whilst competition does exist in the domestic parcel markets, there is a high degree of market concentration, within which Deutsche Post AG has been able to expand its leading market position. A high degree of market concentration is also evident in cross-border postal services. Deutsche Post AG holds a dominant market position in the transport of cross-border letter post to and from Germany. In the Monopolies Commission’s view, strengthening competition requires, in particular, a reform of the regulatory framework.
First and foremost, the privileges enjoyed by Deutsche Post AG must be curtailed and the powers of the Federal Network Agency substantially expanded.
Important note: In its 2016/2017 Postal Activity Report (p. 26 ff., Figure 17) the market shares of Deutsche Post AG (approx. 82 per cent) and its competitors (approx. 18 per cent) in the market for business correspondence, which differ from the figures estimated in the 2017 Special Report on Postal Services (K1, paras. 3 and 13) based on conservative assumptions.