What is CTT Correios de Portugal?
Correios de Portugal, or CTT, is a private postal services and logistics company based in Portugal after it was bought from the Portuguese government in 2014. It remains one of the most used postal services in Portugal and is a big player in logistics solutions and postal services within Europe, especially when it comes to final-leg deliveries in its native country. CTT's main competitors include DHL and DPD.
What is the history of the CTT?
In the 1500s, King Manuel the first creates the public mail service of Portugal, the Correio Público. However, it wasn't until nearly 400 years later that the department received autonomy, becoming the General Administration of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones. This is when it adopted the CTT acronym, under which it remains known to this day. Fifty years later and it had also adopted the logo, which features a horse and its rider. In 1992, a separation between the telecommunications service and the postal service saw the CTT become a public limited company, which lasted until it was fully privatized in 2014, in a sale worth a reported 823 million euros.
Initially, CTT only dealt with domestic shipments. This was because the Correios de Portugal (CTT) postal service was dedicated to serving the government and population of Portugal. In fact, it was mainly involved in shipping royal or government documents for most of its early life.
However, in line with the growing demand for cross-border postal services, especially concerning parcels and packages from other European countries, CTT expanded to meet the new demands. Although CTT was still controlled by the government at this time, now people from Portugal were able to use this service to send and receive packages, nationally and internationally, a trend that is only contining to grow.
Where does CTT deliver?
Today, Correios de Portugal (CTT) sends and receives shipments from all over the world, offering delivery options in over 150 countries around the world. When purchasing international delivery with the CTT, buyers based in Portugal should not that this means they will often handle the pickup and/or dispatch of the item to the destination country, but may not be involved in its transit through other countries or the final-leg of the journey of a parcel to its overseas location. This is the same as with 4PX or Yanwen
This means that tracking can be difficult through just CTT alone, and people using the CTT international delivery service are encouraged to use a free universal tracking site, such as Ship24. Ship24 doesn't just scan CTT tracking events, but scans the web for any tracking events related to your CTT parcel, meaning it can get the latest CTT tracking information even if the parcel is no longer with CTT and in fact, with another courier. Ship24 is the solution for an increasingly complicated shipping network that uses multiple actors to deliver parcels internationally, by offering tracking for all of those logistics companies in one place.
Where is CTT located?
CTT headquarters are still located in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. This office has multiple functions due to it being the head office, meaning that it may not process all parcels which pass through the country. In fact, the head office is largely concerned with the overall management of administration and financial affairs for the company, and parcels sent with CTT will more likely head to one of its processing centers or warehouses located across the country.
If you want to track your CTT parcel on its journey to find out which locations your CTT parcel has passed through and where it is currently, as well as its current status, use Ship24 for the closest to real-time tracking updates relevant to your CTT package.
How do I track my CTT package?
While CTT has its own transportation system and network of operations, it does rely on working with other couriers, transportation companies, postal services, and so on in order to service some 150 countries it delivers post in. Therefore, while CTT has absolute control of deliveries and shipments on national routes when it comes to international deliveries, Correios de Portugal uses the services of many different delivery airlines and carrier vessels.
Depending on the package, delivery timeframe, and other elements, deliveries are received in the destination country by either CTT (if they have the delivery capacity in the destination country) or the national post company of the destination country. If CTT does manage the entire end-to-end delivery of a package, then you can choose to either track your package with CTT directly or get CTT tracking with Ship24. However, rather than having to log on every time you want to get CTT tracking, or you post packages with a number of different parcel delivery services, the best thing to do is consolidate all your package tracking in one place, with the global tracking platform, Ship24. You don't have to log in to different websites to track multiple packages. In fact, you can enter up to 10 different parcel tracking numbers with 10 different parcel delivery companies at the same time on Ship24 and get instant results on all of them.
All you need is your tracking number, in this case, your Correios de Portugal tracking number which will be sent to anyone who sends a parcel with CTT.
Ship24 doesn't need any other information, like personal and private information about the sender and the receiver, the place of departure, place of arrival, weight, type of product, travel route, estimated time, real-time location tracking, or any others to begin tracking your parcel. All that information is locked in by the handling company and Ship24 just lets you know the status and location of your parcel and the latest information on any changes to either of those events.
What are the negatives of using CTT tracking?
Once you have your CTT parcel tracking number it is always best to track with Ship24 and yes, we will explain why! Unlike CTT tracking, Ship24 tracking is universal, so it can offer end-to-end tracking capability no matter who along your parcel's journey handles it. While CTT will often handle parcels on a route through Portugal, subcontracted or partner couriers will most probably be used or for international deliveries when they reach their destination country (or travel outside of Portugal, where the CTT has the capacity to handle the parcel personally).
Tracking with Ship24 means that you'll avoid getting delayed tracking information. CTT tracking updates will not come directly from CTT once a parcel has changed hands, meaning you could receive it late if you continue tracking a CTT package directly.
Ship24 was designed to solve this issue, that's why it scans multiple courier websites from across the world simultaneously, to find out not only who your parcel is with, but where it is and what its current status it. This is all done with the click of a button once you enter your CTT code.
CTT shipment tracking with Ship24 also avoids the risk of not being able to find a parcel should the CTT tracking number change as it changes handler, which can sometimes happen (especially for international parcels). Ship24's built-in auto-detect system means it can find your CTT tracking information even if the tracking number has changed upon handover. This is due to the smart, AI-machine learning built into our universal tracking system. We keep on top of things so you don't have to, so you can sit back, relax and know we've got your parcel covered, wherever it is going.
Ship24 works not only tracking CTT packages but with thousands of other freight forwarding and logistics companies, as well as other marketplaces and e-shops, to deliver optimal tracking capability for our users. That's why people are increasingly switching their tracking to Ship24.
What shipping services does CTT offer?
CTT offers a number of domestic and international mail and parcel delivery options, including regular (standard) shipping and express services, as well as in-house tracking. You can mail both documents (standard letter sizes) or parcels up to 2Kg with the following CTT postal services (which have been split into domestic and international).
National postal delivery services:
- CTT Regular Post offers deliveries within three working days in mainland Portugal.
- CTT Blue Post offers express deliveries within one working day in Portugal mainland and two working days to surrounding island territories.
- CTT Registered Post offers deliveries with a tracking number included within one working day in mainland Portugal and two working days to the surrounding islands. (Additional services, including SMS alerts, insurance, and pay-on-delivery can be added to this shipping mode where desired
- CTT Green Post offers fixed prices for packages of any size or weight, without the need for a stamp and delivery within three working days to the mainland.
International postal delivery services:
- CTT Regular Post offers deliveries within 5 working days or less in Europe and 7 working days or less worldwide
- CTT Blue Post offers express delivery within less than 3 working days in Europe and 5 working days globally.
- CTT Registered international delivers in up to 3 working days in Europe and less than 5 working days worldwide, again including a tracking number and option of additional services for added charges.
- CTT Green Post delivery means fixed prices, without the need for a stamp on any size and weight parcel. Delivered in 5 to 7 working days globally.
CTT also has package delivery options for orders weighing up to and including 30 kg for domestic shipping and 10 kg for international routes.
What are CTT international shipping costs and how long do they take to deliver?
Although prices will vary depending on the specific size, weight, and destination to which your parcel is bound, below is a guide to typical shipment costs rates for a number of CTT postal services as well as their expected delivery times.
- Domestic Mainland takes up to 3 business days with shipping rates starting from 13 euros
- Domestic Islands can take up to 15 business days, with sender fees starting at 22 euros
- International Europe typically takes around 5 business day, with prices being some 45 euros
- Worldwide in less than 7 business days starts from around 110 euros
The Eurosender special services are as follows:
- Eurosender Standard Domestic boasts a 1 to 2 business days delivery, with prices starting from 5 euros
- Eurosender Standard International Up to 7 business days starting at 20.00 euro and up.
As with every delivery company, delivery times vary according to all the different elements involved in the shipping process. The main factors being mostly related to the weight of the package, the size, the distance between the sender and receiver, and the desired delivery turnaround (as per service purchased). Equally, faster delivery will mean higher prices.
For national deliveries, the average time taken to deliver is well under one week. This is because Portugal is not a huge country. However, the time for international shipments is much more varied. It may also depend on other factors that CTT can't control, such as unforeseen weather conditions or delays in the shipping process such as transportation being blocked.
Buyers should be aware that estimated delivery times are the total transit time of a CTT parcel. The estimated delivery time is for reference and should be treated as an estimate. Please make your judgment according to the postage circumstances, destination and timing.
This data is only provided to give potential CTT customers an idea about CTT shipping efficiency. For accurate shipping estimates, users are advised to contact CTT with their parcel particulars for an exact delivery quotation.
All CTT tracking can be done on the Ship24 website for free, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Is Correios de Portugal expensive?
The Correios de Portugal shipping fees are generally low in comparison to other national postal services in Europe. Of course, the cost of packages will be based on the parcel itself but a package that weighs between 500g to 2Kg can cost as little as 3.50 euros.
How do I contact CTT?
Correios de Portugal has its own call center to attend to any complaint, messages, general queries, and questions. Please find the number and opening times on the CTT website. You can also contact the CTT via email, on the web page, or on its various social network profiles, which is advised if you are outside the country (to avoid potentially higher call rates).
If you are going to call about a specific parcel that you think might be lost, still in transit, or otherwise, check the latest CTT tracking information on Ship24 so you can be fully informed of the status and location of your parcel before getting in touch with CTT.
