PS awaits integration to boost its fleet by 50%

Trans Courier Service, an international express courier service provider, authorised service contractor for UPS, will make investments to expand its fleet by up to 50%, depending on the answer Romania will get from the European Commission in April.

“We will boost our distribution and shipment capacity for next year by as much as 50%, depending on the answer Romania will get in April 2006 (for its integration in the European Union in January 2007 i.e.),” stated Iulia Nartea, UPS Romania CEO.

She believes the ascending trend of the domestic international shipping market will strengthen once Romania joins the EU, an event that will have a positive impact on its commercial relationships with member states.

“In 2006, we are targeting a turnover increase by over 30%. It is only normal that we should want such growth, given that the courier services market is becoming more competitive, customers have higher expectations from courier firms and the future integration into the European Union will mean overall economic growth,” stated Iulia Nartea.

The company last year posted turnover worth 4.6 million euros, 30% higher year-on-year.

The profit margin estimated for the same period ranges between 2% and 5% of turnover, according to Nartea.

The company”s investment plans for this year target, apart from the development of the car fleet for courier services, the opening of three UPS Customer Centres in three major cities of Romania. Investments in technology are also scheduled.

The company last autumn introduced a regular flight with a Fokker 27 aircraft having a loading capacity of 6 tonnes, with the aim of increasing the shipping capacity in relation to Romania.

Trans Courier Services customers are mainly firms involved in foreign trade activities, as well as banks, law firms and natural persons.

The main competitors of UPS on the Romanian market of international fast deliveries are TNT, DHL and FedEx.

In line with the latest estimations by couriers, the domestic market saw a growth by more than 30% in 2005, with the ascending trend to continue.

The development of the Romanian company has prompted an increasing number of companies to spin off their courier services and entailed an unprecedented growth of the domestic courier services market. The value of this market is currently estimated at around 100 million euros.