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The Competitive Landscape of China’s Express Delivery Services

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The Competitive Landscape of China’s Express Delivery Services

China Renaissance,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

The world’s largest package delivery market is looking increasingly complex.

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Background

Recommendation

Chinese investment bank China Renaissance provides a sharp analysis of China’s express delivery industry. The article covers the bigger picture and gives a useful overview for people already familiar with the industry.  However, it stays clear of more prickly issues: the harsh working conditions and labor law infringements, pervasive fraud, and the power play between giants Alibaba and Tencent – which could very well decide the future of China’s logistics. Because the article is rather dry and larded with financial jargon, getAbstract recommends it primarily to economists, business managers, financial advisers and entrepreneurs. 

Summary

China is the largest package delivery market in the world. In 2016, the industry made ¥397.4 billion [$58.4 billion] in revenues and delivered 31.3 billion packages. Once monopolized by state-owned China Post’s Express Mail Service (EMS), courier services – called kuaidi, or express delivery, in China – now represents an intensely competitive market. Increased efficiency and competition have lowered prices dramatically. End users have benefited from the convenience of these services; customers can place their orders electronically or by phone, and couriers will come to the doorstep to pick up your parcels. 

The explosion of ecommerce has been the main driver of the industry’s growth. Volume of sales in online retail grew 100-fold between 2007 and 2016. During that same time, the express delivery market mushroomed 12 times in size. And even at this rate of growth, China’s courier services are still unable to meet demands. 

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About the Author

China Renaissance is a leading Chinese financial institution providing a range of financial services. The firm is dedicated to serving China’s new-economy entrepreneurs. Its research team wrote this report and published it on the company’s WeChat wemedia channel. 

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