The global e-commerce logistics market is expected to grow at 9.69 percent through 2020, primarily because of growth in the cross-border e-commerce market, which is expected to increase at a rate of more than 28 percent worldwide.

If you have been following the news from the express and e-commerce industries lately, you could be forgiven for thinking that the big U.S. integrators are in serious trouble, trembling at the thought of Amazon not only pulling its business from UPS and FedEx, but also competing for their remaining business.

Much as it has with cloud computing, Amazon is poised to move in a big way into third-party transportation and logistics services, leveraging its vast network of fulfillment and distribution centers as well as its massive data and cloud assets, according to an equity analyst and media reports.

In time for the holiday season, UPS is rolling out to 100 cities a program that requires people in some neighborhoods to fetch packages at nearby locations -- such as a druggist or dry cleaner -- if they weren't home to meet a driver.

TNT is deploying seven 3.5-tonne electric express delivery vehicles for its operations in and around Amsterdam and Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as a partner of Freight Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe, an urban e-mobility project supported by the European Commission. FREVUE seeks to demonstrate to industry, consumers and policy makers how electric vehicles can meet the growing need for sustainable urban logistics.

Uber's mission is to offer "transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone". And perhaps "everything": it has begun experimenting with local delivery services, with the aim of becoming as disruptive in logistics as it has been in the taxi business.

Newgistics, which provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions for retailers and brands, announced the international expansion of its parcel delivery and return services. This new offering helps to reduce the costs of cross-border delivery and make it easier for U.S. retailers to access and begin selling into the largest markets overseas, including the U.K., Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia, China and South America.