The Chinese express market picked up speed in the last three months and closed the first half of 2019 with volume growth of just over 25%, driven by strong domestic demand and rising outbound shipments, according to the latest figures from the State Post Bureau (SPB).
Overall express delivery volumes increased by 25.7% to 27.8 billion items while revenues increased by 23.7% to RMB 339.7 billion (US$49.4 billion) between January and June, the postal regulatory authority announced. Growth was even stronger in June, with a volume rise of 29% generating a 26.5% increase in revenues.
Over the first half of 2019, domestic volumes sent within China soared by nearly 34% to 22 billion pieces but intra-city deliveries dropped slightly to 5.1 billion items.
International express shipments (including to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) grew dynamically by 21.2% to 630 million items over the half-year. After growth of just 8.9% to 290 million items in the first quarter, this indicates a clear upturn in exports between April and June.
Earlier this year, the State Post Bureau said that for 2019 as a whole express volumes are expected to increase about 20% to 60 billion items while turnover should rise by 19% to RMB 715 billion (US$104 billion).
In 2018, total Chinese express volumes increased by 25.8% to 50.5 billion items and the sector’s turnover grew by 21.2% to RMB 601 billion (US$87.4 billion). In 2017, volumes grew by 28% to 40 billion parcels while the sector’s turnover increased by 24.5% to RMB 495 billion (US$77.6 billion).
