At 18:26 on the 4th of December, the State Post Bureau picked up a signal from an SF Express parcel sent from Kunming, Yunnan to Chengdu, Sichuan. This delivery of flowers via high-speed train became the 120 billionth item to be delivered in the country this year – the highest number ever delivered in China within a single year. The South China Morning Post reports that this marks an 8.5% uptick compared to last year.
120 billion parcels means that in the year 2023, each person in China posted nearly 100 items. Data shows that since March this year, every month saw over 10 billion parcels being shipped and a revenue of 90 billion RMB (12.68 billion USD) generated. Since November, when the Double 11 surge in demand kicked in, an average of 430 million parcels were delivered each day.
According to the government’s 14th Five-Year Plan, annual parcels will reach 150 billion by 2025. This would result in an annual revenue of 1.8 trillion RMB (253.68 billion USD), contributing to 1.3% of GDP, as well as supporting the e-commerce industry.
The parcel delivery system has been upgrading itself and there are plans to integrate road, rail, air and sea. In some cities, incorporating rapid transit systems like the metro into the delivery route is also being trialled.
