Express delivery volume tops 150-billion mark this year

Workers sort parcels at a processing center of a post office in Tai'an, Shandong province, on Wednesday. (CHEN YANG/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China's parcel delivery sector has achieved a significant milestone this year, handling a record 150 billion parcels as of Sunday afternoon, underscoring the country's robust economic resilience and the efficiency of its logistics and e-commerce systems.

The milestone was noted in Beijing at the State Post Bureau's China Express Delivery Big Data Platform at 4:29 pm.

The platform marked the achievement as a defining moment for the country's rapidly expanding logistics infrastructure.

The 150 billionth parcel — a box of apples from Tianshui in Northwest China's Gansu province — began its nearly 800-kilometer journey to a recipient in Chongqing in Southwest China, symbolizing the immense scale of China's parcel delivery network.

The rapid growth of China's parcel delivery sector over the past decade has been staggering. In 2014, the industry handled approximately 14 billion parcels. This year's milestone of 150 billion illustrates a remarkable increase in just 10 years.

The development of the sector is closely tied to the growth of China's booming e-commerce market, which continues to drive demand for faster and more efficient delivery services.

"On the one hand, China's express delivery industry ensures the well-being of its residents, while on the other, it stimulates production," said Zhao Guojun, director of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications' postal development research center.

"The sector remains vibrant and active, continuously improving in quality and efficiency, accelerating industrial upgrades, and driving production and consumption," he added.

The rapid expansion of parcel deliveries is not just a statistic, but reflects the massive scale of economic activity, she noted.

On the peak day this year, the industry processed more than 729 million parcels, and monthly shipment volumes have exceeded 13 billion, while business revenue has surpassed 100 billion yuan ($13.81 billion) each month, according to the State Post Bureau.