A Brief History of the Parcel Delivery Industry—Getting to know who moves your packages

Business owners use parcel delivery services like UPS, DHL and FedEx everyday. And now that it’s more accessible, everyday citizens are using it more and more. But how exactly did delivery services come about and what have they developed into today?

Although the original United States Postal Service started in the United States in the 1700s, it wasn’t until 1852 that the Wells Fargo company was established in the western United States, around the same time that other parcel shipping companies started popping up.

These early developments led the way for companies like UPS, DHL and FedEx. UPS was founded in Seattle in 1907 and is now responsible for billions of dollars in transfers of goods, funds and information across the globe each and every day.

Later on, in the 1900s, DHL and FedEx joined the ranks of delivery service companies, and nowadays they give UPS a run for its money, although UPS still stands strong as the number one competitor for the United States Postal Service.

DHL was established in 1969 and was responsible for the new concept of international air express. International Air Express reduces the cost and wait time for customers by providing a more rapid means of transporting goods and documents.

Today, DHL, FedEx and UPS ship to nearly every country in the world—they will even go places where they do have an established business as long as there is a post office or package delivery service somewhere in the country.

So the next time you stick a product in a parcel post package for shipment across the globe, remember the developments that have occurred in the industry to make your life and your packages move a little bit faster.