I had a realization that the very existence of private domestic shippers in countries indicates a failure of their government to provide universal infrastructure needed by all citizens.
There may be specialized needs like same-day couriers, special handling requirements and other edge cases, but those should be small specialty houses, not international mega-corps.
A big reason why everything is made in China is because the Chinese government subsidizes the cost of shipping.
Local governments in China literally reimburse local businesses 20-50% of air freight costs.
The national Chinese government subsidizes ocean freight and commercial shipbuilding to the tune of 50%.
They also subsidize a zillion other things, but the bottom line is that by using taxes to pay for their postal/shipping services, they’re easily able to out-compete Western nations/businesses in overall product costs.
Imagine if the US was still paying for USPS through taxes—how much that would save businesses in the US and keep them competitive internationally.