China's courier industry sets new record on "Double 11" online shopping festival

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

By Han Xin, People's Daily

According to the State Post Bureau, around 12.08 billion express parcels were collected across the country between Oct. 21 and Nov. 10, up 21.4 percent from a year ago. The number of parcels delivered stood at 12.12 billion during the same period, growing 25.3 percent year on year.

An average of over 550 million parcels were handled on a daily basis, with the peak daily volume hitting 729 million, surging 74 percent year on year and hitting a record high.

The courier industry is a bridge linking production to consumption. The suddenly surging business volume in the industry is not only a test for the industry's development results, but also a window on the vitality of the consumption market.

The courier network, increasingly extending toward rural areas, is releasing the potential of the rural market.

"More parcels are handled in rural areas now," said Lu Jing, a courier of Chinese logistics company ZTO Express, who works in Muhuang township, Yinjiang Tujia and Miao autonomous county, southwest China's Guizhou province.

According to Lu, the parcel volume at his courier station has quintupled since the station was established seven years ago. During this year's "Double 11" online shopping festival, the daily package intake at the station peaked at nearly 700 items, Lu said.

From remote deserts in the northwest to southwest border areas, and from mountainous regions to coastal islands, express delivery services not only bring convenience to rural residents but also stimulate consumption potential in rural areas.

According to ZTO Express, during this year's "Double 11" online shopping festival, over 520 million parcels were delivered to townships and rural areas, up 38 percent year on year, while the number of outbound parcels from these areas reached 340 million, increasing by 36 percent from a year ago.

The accelerated overseas expansion of the Chinese courier industry is stimulating and diversifying demands for cross-border logistics.

During the "Double 11" online shopping festival, Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, in collaboration with AliExpress, Alibaba's cross-border business-to-customer platform, upgraded its logistics services, expanding its Global Five-Day Delivery service  to 14 countries.

Chinese e-commerce titan JD.com launched an air freight route from Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In October this year, the company's international shipping volume surged 65 percent from a month ago, and the company plans to double the total area of its overseas warehouses by the end of 2025.

This year, the courier industry has continuously improved its cross-border service capability, which offered solid support for the export of Chinese products, said Wang Yuehan, director of the department of industrial economy studies under the development and research center of the State Post Bureau .

The application of relevant technologies has significantly enhanced the efficiency of courier services.

To meet the surge in deliveries during the "Double 11" online shopping festival, major courier companies turned to advanced technologies. SF Express expanded the number of delivery drones and relevant personnel by 30 percent in Shenzhen to widen its airways. STO Express put into use over 300 intelligent driving trucks. Yunda Express introduced a new smart sorting system to improve efficiency and cut energy consumption. These technological innovations helped maintain normal delivery operations during the "Double 11" online shopping festival.

According to an official with the State Post Bureau, China has handled over 140 billion express parcels this year, with revenue exceeding 1 trillion yuan($138.51 billion).

Next, the country will focus on the development of rural courier systems and accelerate the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces, so as to make the courier industry better serve economic and social development.