Canada Post reported a before-tax loss of $270 million for 2018, citing the costs of resolving a long-running pay equity dispute plus the impact of last fall’s labour disruption as “non-recurring” contributing factors.
“Had it not been for these non-recurring factors, Canada Post would have recorded a profit in 2018,” reads a recent statement issued by the Crown corporation.
Months-long negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to produce new collective agreements “created uncertainty for customers,” reads the Canada Post statement. With rotating strikes orchestrated by the CUPW between Oct. 22 and Nov. 27, “some customers found alternatives to using Canada Post.” As a result, lower-than-anticipated mail volumes in the fourth quarter of 2018 created an estimated revenue shortfall of $195 million.
MAIL DOWN, PARCELS UP
“In the larger context of the business, two important trends continued in 2018: the strong growth in parcels and the significant decline in mail volumes,” reads the Crown corporation’s statement.
The ongoing decline in letters, bills and statements saw transaction mail revenue fall by 5.5 per cent ($151 million) compared to 2017. Transaction mail volumes fell by 6.2 per cent (187 million pieces) in 2018 compared to 2017.
Canadians mailed 2.4 billion (44 per cent) fewer pieces of mail last year than in the peak year of 2006.
This is contrasted by Canada Post’s current core strategy – to be the country’s parcel-delivery leader – which saw the parcel business continue to grow in 2018. Parcels generated 38 per cent of the segment’s revenue in 2018 compared to 34 per cent in 2017 and only 21 per cent in 2011.
Last year, parcel revenue increased by $308 million (13.6 per cent) while volumes increased by 54 million pieces (21.7 per cent) compared to 2017.
For more information, visit canadapost.ca.