Diweddariadau monitro blynyddol ar y farchnad bost

This report sets out key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2017-18 financial year. The regulatory framework Ofcom put in place in March 2012, and reviewed in March 2017, fulfils our statutory duty of securing a universal postal service, having regard to financial sustainability and efficiency. An effective and on-going monitoring regime remains one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework, alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail.

This document, together with a broad range of interactive data, constitutes our seventh annual monitoring update on the postal sector. This report covers six key areas: analysis of the letters market; the parcels market consumer and small business experience of postal services; the financial performance and efficiency of Royal Mail’s Reported Business; and Royal Mail’s regulatory compliance. The Reported Business is the part of Royal Mail’s business responsible for the universal service, which requires Royal Mail to collect and deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week, at an affordable and uniform price to all UK addresses.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2017-18 (PDF, 1.6 MB)

Diweddariad monitro blynyddol ar y farchnad bost: Y flwyddyn ariannol 2017-18 (PDF, 225.7 KB)

Interactive data

Interactive data - raw data (XLSX, 154.4 KB)

Update 29 January 2019: correction to delivery routes data

This update note informs stakeholders of a correction to the proportion of “Delivery routes completed” in Figure 8.4 of the 2017-18 annual monitoring update for the postal market. Figure 8.4 summarises Royal Mail’s performance in 2017-18 against the Quality of Service targets we have set. This change reflects a correction from Royal Mail on 28 January 2019. Specifically, Royal Mail corrected its year-end results for the percentage of delivery routes completed each day upon which a delivery is required in its 2017-18 quality of service report. This correction means that the correct percentage is now 98.88% rather than 99.88%. We have updated our report. The published report is the corrected version.

This report sets out the key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2016-17 financial year. The regulatory framework Ofcom put in place in March 2012, and reviewed in March 2017, fulfils our statutory duty of securing a universal postal service, having regard to financial sustainability and efficiency. An effective and on-going monitoring regime remains one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework, alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail.

This document, together with an expanded range of interactive data, constitute our sixth annual monitoring update on the postal sector. This report covers six key areas: Royal Mail’s regulatory compliance; consumer and small business experience of postal services; the letters market; the parcels market; the financial performance and efficiency of Royal Mail’s Reported Business. The Reported Business is the part of Royal Mail’s business responsible for the universal service, which requires Royal Mail to collect and deliver letters and parcels a minimum number of days a week, at an affordable and uniform price to all UK addresses.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2016-17 (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Diweddariad monitro blynyddol ar y farchnad bost: Y flwyddyn ariannol 2016-17 (PDF, 741.8 KB)

Interactive data

Interactive data - raw data (XLSX, 82.6 KB)

This report sets out the key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2015 16 financial year. An effective and on-going monitoring regime is one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework that Ofcom put in place in the postal sector in March 2012, alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail. We also committed to publishing an annual report summarising the results of our monitoring programme. In May 2016, we published a consultation on the findings of our Review of Royal Mail Regulation, in which we explain that we continue to consider this an important element of our postal regulatory framework. This document and accompanying interactive charts constitute our fifth annual monitoring update on the postal sector.

This report covers five key areas: Royal Mail’s pricing and quality of service for residential and small business consumers; the letters market; the parcels market; the financial performance of Royal Mail’s Reported Business (i.e. the part of Royal Mail’s business responsible for the universal service); and efficiency of Royal Mail’s Reported Business.

We have updated the format of this report, making this document shorter and publishing accompanying interactive data tables presenting data trends in Royal Mail pricing (stamp, business and access), Royal Mail quality of service, letter market volumes and revenues by type of operator and Royal Mail volumes and revenues (USO/non USO, product group and format). We have also included additional financial health metrics and altered the metrics we monitor for efficiency by way of implementing the findings of our Review of Royal Mail Regulation.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2015-16 (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2015-16: pdf data (CSV, 14.5 KB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2015-16: tableau data (CSV, 24.4 KB)

Interactive data

This report sets out the key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2014-15 financial year. An effective and on-going monitoring regime is one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework that Ofcom put in place in the postal sector in March 2012, alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail. We also committed to publishing an annual report summarising the results of our monitoring programme. This is our fourth annual monitoring update on the postal sector.

This report covers five key areas: the impact of Royal Mail’s pricing and quality of service on residential and small business consumers; the bulk mail letters sector, the parcels market; the financial performance of the universal service; and Royal Mail’s rate of efficiency improvement. For the first time, this report includes new data on the parcels sector gathered from market participants.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2014-15 (PDF, 2.2 MB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2014-15: data (CSV, 15.6 KB)

This report sets out the key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2013-14 financial year. An effective and ongoing monitoring regime is one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework that Ofcom put in place in the postal sector in March 2012 alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail. We also committed to publishing an annual report summarising the results of our monitoring programme. This is our third annual monitoring update on the postal sector.

This report covers four key areas: the financial performance of the universal service, Royal Mail’s rate of efficiency improvement; the impact of Royal Mail’s pricing and quality of service on customers and consumers; and the level and impact of competition for business customers.”

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2013-14 (PDF, 676.3 KB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2013-14: data (CSV, 12.2 KB)

This is our second annual monitoring update on the postal sector and the first covering the period since we introduced the new regulatory framework in our 27 March 2012 statement - Securing the Universal Postal Service, Decision on the new regulatory framework ('the March 2012 statement'). That decision gave Royal Mail greater pricing freedom so it could return the universal service to financial sustainability, subject to certain safeguards. One such safeguard was an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track Royal Mail's performance. As part of this safeguard we committed to publishing an annual report summarising the results of our monitoring programme.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2012-13 (PDF, 518.6 KB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2012-13: data (CSV, 9.8 KB)

On 1 October 2011, responsibility for regulation of the postal sector transferred to Ofcom from Postcomm under the Postal Services Act 2011 ("the Act"). Our primary duty is to secure the provision of an efficient universal postal service.

On 27 March 2012 we published a statement - Securing the Universal Postal Service, Decision on the new regulatory framework ("the March 2012 statement").1 In that document we set out the approach that Ofcom was taking to regulating the postal sector. This included the decision to give Royal Mail greater pricing freedom so that it is able to return the universal service to financial sustainability, subject to certain safeguards.

One of these safeguards was an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track Royal Mail's performance in respect of quality of service and affordability for universal services, and progress on efficiency. As part of the monitoring programme, we also committed to publishing key postal market data in an annual update. This update is intended to set out the key trends in the sector, and in particular, the progress that is being made in terms of securing the provision of the universal service.

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: financial year 2011-12 (PDF, 186.1 KB)

Annual monitoring update on the postal market: Financial year 2011-12: data (CSV, 6.6 KB)