Hugo App, a platform for home delivery services, is one of the companies that accelerated its growth due to the mobility restrictions that have been decreed in the countries of the region because of the health crisis.
In order to contain the spread of covid-19, governments in Central America have decreed mandatory quarantines and restricted the movement of consumers at certain times.
Almost two years after termination of the contract with the previous concessionaire, the government is once again considering the possibility of putting out to tender administration of the national postal service.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "...Since last year the state postal service has been working at half capacity.Only 13 of the 252 agencies of the Dirección General de Correos y Telégrafos (DGCT) are authorized, but these only deliver packages from abroad and it is not possible to send mail from Guatemala; In the capital, 12 postmen and two vehicles distribute legal documents, certificates and letters."
The government has announced that it will be preparing the groundwork for convening an international tender for concession of operation of the postal service.
Days after the closure of El Correo de Guatemala was announced, the government is finalizing details for the company to deliver the goods stored at its warehouses and provide continuity to the service, while a new tender is being prepared.
Businessmen are complaining about erroneous charges being levied by Customs on exempted companies, courier shipments or cargo that does not even reach the borders.
The incorrect application of the new rules on the charge of $18 which applies in Salvadoran customs offices for the use of X-rays starting from 1 January 2016, is causing problems and provoked a reaction by seven private sector unions that form the Intergremial Commission for Trade Facilitation (Cifacil).
The company DHL has announced that starting January 2015 that the average increase in prices in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama will be 4.9%.
From a statement issued by DHL:
DHL Express, provider of the world's leading international express services, today announced an overall increase in average rates globally, effective from January 1, 2015. The average increase in prices in Guatemala will be 4.9% (also applicable to Costa Rica and Panama).
Total online purchases made in 2012, which exceeded 500,000 transactions, were up 7% on those registered in 2011.
Courier companies were surprised by the figures, which exceeded their expectations. "The market is healthy and growing each year," said Jorge Gomez, General Manager of TransExpress.
"According to Gomez, 2012 showed an annual growth of 17%, compared to the more than 400,000 transactions recorded in 2011, but the biggest move of the year came during the last week of November with Black Friday (last 23 November), and continued throughout December, peaking right at the end of the year.
Founded in 1931 with one single-engine Stinson plane, TACA Cargo offers specialized cargo and courier services.
Eighty years later we bridge the Three Americas serving customers at 42 destinations in 22 countries in North, Central, South America and the Caribbean, including flights to Toronto, Canada and nine major U.S. cities. Among our destinations are New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, Lima, Quito, Bogota, Caracas, and Santo Domingo.
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
Phone: (281) 443 1808
During the seventh round of negotiations, the European Union required opening the markets of professional, postal, courier and transport services.
The requirement of the opening the service sectors by the European Union was not accompanied by changes in its offer for the points of greatest interest to Central America such as bananas, sugar, rum, products with high sugar content and meat.
In seeking to mitigate the effects of the crisis, the trade of goods is redirected, which means opportunities for logistics operators.
Many Latin American companies are reacting to the global economic crisis by looking for markets that are geographically closer than the normal markets in Asia and Europe where demand has fallen drastically.
This requires changes in logistics, which specialized operators are willing to undertake in order to capture the increasing demand for regional freight services and transport.