State Post Office: In September 2024, China's express delivery development index was 442.5, up 9% year-on-year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to news from the State Post Office on October 17, according to estimates, China's express delivery development index for September 2024 was 442.5, an increase of 9% over the previous year. Among them, the development scale index, service quality index, development capacity index and development trend index were 539.3, 688.1, 224.4, and 69.7, respectively, up 24.2%, 2.2%, 0.4% and 3.9% from the previous year. In September, the express delivery market had strong momentum, scale expansion was steady and orderly, industrial integration advanced further, and cross-border service capabilities became stronger.

In September, the express delivery development scale index was 539.3, up 24.2% year on year. Judging from the sub-indicators, the express delivery business volume is expected to increase by about 18.5% year on year in September, and business revenue will increase by about 13% year on year. In the first three quarters, the express delivery market maintained a rapid growth trend. The express delivery business volume exceeded 120 billion units, and business revenue exceeded trillion yuan.

First, the momentum for development is getting stronger. In the first three quarters, excluding factors influencing the Spring Festival, the industry's monthly business volume basically maintained a year-on-year growth rate of around 20%. Since May, the monthly express delivery business volume has exceeded 14 billion units and has become the norm, with the highest daily business volume exceeding 580 million units. The role of promoting consumption, helping production, and smooth circulation is becoming more and more prominent. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period (September 15-17), the industry collected 1,307 million express parcels, an average daily increase of 35.4% over last year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday; 1.407 billion express parcels were delivered, an increase of 45.7% over the previous year, which strongly met the delivery needs of the holiday market, and peak guarantee capacity improved.

Second, regional development is becoming more balanced. In the first three quarters, the express delivery business growth rate in the central and western regions is expected to exceed 30% and 35% respectively, far exceeding the national average growth rate, and the share of express delivery business will increase. Since April, express delivery companies have continuously increased the supply of delivery services in the Xinjiang region, increased capacity investment in remote regions such as Tibet, and promoted rapid growth in express delivery business in the northwest and southwest regions. The year-on-year growth rate of business volume in Shaanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou and other provinces is expected to be over 45%.

Third, there is strong support for new types of consumption. In the first three quarters, new models such as live streaming and short video delivery developed rapidly, driving the continuous expansion of the express delivery market. Guided by the consumer goods trade-in policy, smart homes and green appliances are increasingly becoming new hot spots for online delivery. The scale of delivery of products such as seasonal fresh food, fitness and health care, festival products, flowers and greenery has expanded, and express delivery companies are playing a positive role in promoting the continuous development of new types of consumption.

In September, the express delivery service quality index was 688.1, up 2.2% year on year. Judging from the sub-indicators, public satisfaction with express delivery services is expected to be 83.8 points, an increase of 0.6 points over the previous year. The 72-hour turnaround rate for key regions is expected to be 83.1%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the previous year. In the first three quarters, the industry's service level improved steadily, and the consumer delivery experience improved.

First, it is more convenient to serve specific groups. Express delivery companies have strengthened cooperation with colleges and universities to establish on-campus service sites to provide “one-stop” delivery services to help college students leave school easily and return to school with more efficient delivery services. Express delivery companies actively explore smart medical services, carry out delivery of multiple products such as case reports, pharmaceuticals, test samples, medical devices, etc., and comprehensively use smart devices such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and smart cabinets to help hospitals achieve traceability of pharmaceutical reagents, visualization of the entire logistics process, customized cold chain transportation, and unmanned facilities and equipment.

Second, serving modern agriculture is more comprehensive. Express delivery companies promote direct cold chain services to the fields, comprehensively improve delivery timeliness and service quality through temperature control technology optimization, packaging material innovation, operational data mining, and investment in “land, rail and air” capacity matrices, help specialty agricultural products such as flowers, hairy crabs, and Chinese herbal medicines achieve direct harvesting and direct delivery from the source, and protect the local community to build geographical indication agricultural product brands.

Third, the service manufacturing industry is more advanced. Express delivery companies are deeply involved in integrated supply chain services, continuously extending the service chain, and enriching the warehousing service system. In the field of 3C brand new product launches, express delivery companies ensure rapid response and safe delivery of new product delivery through the use of accurate big data forecasting, digital supply chain management, customized reinforced packaging, and the “split warehouse+direct delivery+extremely effective advance” service model. In the field of footwear, express delivery companies are actively building industrial belt warehouses to provide merchants with integrated positive and reverse value-added services, in-warehouse quality inspection, printing, ironing, etc. By providing a digital management system, they improve the timeliness of inventory changes and order management, and provide support for manufacturing enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

In September, the express delivery development capacity index was 224.4, an increase of 0.4% over the previous year. In the first three quarters, the industry's development capacity improved steadily.

First, basic production capacity continues to increase. Express delivery companies upgrade distribution centers in Harbin to improve transit efficiency in Northeast China. The Hefei Auto Parts Distribution Center, the Zhongshan Printing Supplies Professional Warehouse, the Wuhan Pharmaceutical and Equipment Warehouse, and the Jiangmen Pet Food Three-dimensional Warehouse have been put into operation one after another to provide more professional warehousing and distribution services for enterprises in various fields. Operate facilities such as the Henan Dengzhou Smart Logistics Port, Suzhou Taihu Intelligent Industrial Park, Jinan (Shahe) and Quanzhou Smart Innovation Park to promote the gathering of resources such as regional commercial flow, logistics and capital flow, and help the innovation and development of local industries.

Second, comprehensive capacity continues to increase. On the aviation side, the industry's own airlines have launched all international freighter routes such as “Hangzhou=Astana = Budapest” and “Guangzhou=Delhi”, and the “Xi'an-Liège” freighter charter routes to enhance radiation capacity in Europe, South Asia and other regions. In terms of land transportation, express delivery companies have strengthened cooperation with transportation companies within the city to promote new delivery models such as “subway+express” and “bus+express” in many places to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of delivery in the same city. In terms of unmanned transportation, express delivery companies have added take-off and landing sites in Shenzhen, launched a “Shenzhen-Dongguan” drone route, built an “aerial drone+ground station+underground unmanned vehicle+subway” low-altitude rail transport network, explored new low-altitude delivery models in Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Suzhou and other places, built smart low-altitude logistics communities in Shaanxi, and continued to explore new scenarios in the low-altitude economy. Express delivery companies optimize unmanned vehicle capacity management platforms, promote the upgrading and iteration of unmanned vehicles in the direction of large capacity and long battery life, normalize unmanned vehicle delivery in places such as Dongying, Shandong, and Baoji in Shaanxi, and promote convenient and intelligent development of urban delivery.

The third is the optimization and improvement of cross-border services. On the one hand, express delivery companies have upgraded international delivery timelines, simplified cross-border service processes, launched standard overseas warehouse products, and provided overseas door-to-door collection services, which strongly guarantees cross-border delivery needs during the “Mid-Autumn Festival” and “Black Friday” holidays. On the other hand, express delivery companies completed the country's first customs clearance under the “1210 bonded e-commerce” model for fresh fruit in Shanghai, promoting the efficiency of cross-border logistics and visibility of import links, and laying the foundation for large-scale development of cross-border e-commerce fruit import trade.

In September, the development trend index was 69.7%, up 3.9% year on year. Express delivery companies are speeding up the application of new technologies and models, and the level of protection during the peak season has been steadily raised, providing strong support for expanding new development space and unleashing new consumption capabilities. The industry is expected to maintain a steady growth trend in the fourth quarter.

This article was edited by the State Post Office, Zhitong Finance Editor: Chen Wenfang.