Courier service, which transports parcels and documents for clients, belongs to which sector of the economy?

Introduction / Context:
This question focuses on basic economic classification of activities into primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. Courier services are widely used in modern economies to move parcels, documents, and goods between locations. Classifying these services correctly helps in understanding economic structure, national income accounting, and questions related to development and employment patterns. Many exam questions ask candidates to categorize different activities into the correct sector based on the nature of output.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Courier services involve the collection, transportation, and delivery of letters, parcels, and goods for clients.
• Options given are primary, secondary, tertiary, and a combination of secondary and tertiary.
• Primary activities are usually extraction based, such as agriculture, mining, and fishing.
• Secondary activities involve manufacturing and processing of goods, while tertiary activities provide services.

Concept / Approach:
The primary sector deals with extraction of natural resources. The secondary sector processes raw materials into finished goods through manufacturing activities. The tertiary sector includes a wide range of services such as transport, communication, banking, trade, and education. Courier service does not extract natural resources or manufacture products. Instead, it offers transportation and delivery of items as a service to customers. Therefore, it clearly falls under the tertiary sector. There is no significant manufacturing element involved that would justify classifying it as secondary.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the definitions of economic sectors: primary for extraction, secondary for manufacturing, and tertiary for services. Step 2: Identify that a courier company mainly picks up parcels, transports them, tracks them, and delivers them to recipients. Step 3: Note that this activity is a service provided to households and businesses and does not involve producing a physical good through manufacturing. Step 4: Conclude that courier service belongs to the tertiary sector of the economy.

Verification / Alternative check:
Economic textbooks and national income classification schemes list transport, postal, and courier services under the service sector. National accounts often group these under trade, hotels, transport, communication, and related services. No classification places courier activities under primary or pure manufacturing categories. Exam syllabi for economics and social science also present courier and logistics services as standard examples of tertiary sector activities.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is wrong because courier work does not involve extraction of raw materials such as crops, minerals, or fish. Option B is incorrect because there is no transformation of raw materials into new products as in a factory. Option D, which suggests both secondary and tertiary, would apply only if an activity combined significant manufacturing with services, which is not the case here. Courier companies may use manufactured vehicles and facilities, but their core activity is service oriented transportation and delivery.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to confuse the use of manufactured goods, such as vehicles and sorting equipment, with belonging to the secondary sector. Another error is to focus on the physical movement of goods and assume that any physical activity must be manufacturing. It is important to remember that transport and communication are classic examples of tertiary activities even though they involve handling physical objects.

Final Answer:
Courier service is a service activity and is therefore classified under the tertiary sector of the economy.