Across the pond in Europe various national postal operators and global courier, express and parcel operators have diversified their offerings to various degrees and in some cases through geographic expansion.

FORBES: Never Go to the Post Office Again

The Airbus A380 was once the bright hope of EADS despite its controversial double-decker design, but between 2005 and 2006 manufacturing problems and delivery delays saw customers like Federal Express and United Parcel Service angrily cancel their orders.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In 1959, he left to be president of the Railway Express Agency, a giant national parcel service that was failing.

WSJ: Johnson Helped Turn Railroad Into Conglomerate

As a result of all this, and the boom in e-commerce, the big parcel companies, such as Federal Express, UPS and DHL (not targets of the current investigation), have seen business boom.

ECONOMIST: Inspecting the cargo | The