China - October 22, 2024

Chinese couriers usher in peak delivery season

(Voice_over)

China's logistics firms are in the midst of the annual peak season for moving goods.

Official data shows that this past August, express companies nationwide handled more than 14 billion parcels, marking a year-on-year increase of nearly 30 percent.

The surge in demand has translated into strong earnings, with China's logistics revenue having exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars by the end of September.

In east China's Wuxi City, a logistics center for one of the country's leading couriers ZTO Express is still humming with activity even at ten o'clock at night.

Here, dozens of sorting lines manage a steady stream of parcels 24 hours a day.

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Cong Yu, Operation manager, ZTO Express in Wuxi City:

"We're handling around 2.1 million parcels every day, up 15 percent compared to the year prior. Almost every truck leaving the Wuxi hub is fully loaded."

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Soon, express companies will face a deluge of packages for the annual "Double Eleven" shopping spree, which kicked off on October 14th this year, nearly a month before the official holiday on November 11th.

To keep up with demand, couriers across the country are scrambling to bulk up their workforces.

(Sound_bite)

Cheng Lintong, Operation director, YTO Express in Shanghai:

"During the Double Eleven shopping festival, the delivery volume is at least 300 percent higher than usual. So, we've launched a recruitment drive and are offering incentives to expand full-time workforces."

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The annual November 11th Double Eleven online shopping extravaganza is the country's largest shopping holiday that attracts millions of bargain hunters to popular e-commerce platforms.

[Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]