What’s new: Orders taken and delivered by China’s postal and delivery companies both dropped to their lowest points since the end of November as the industry struggles with a labor shortage as Covid outbreaks spread nationwide and the Lunar New Year holiday nears.
On Sunday, the country’s postal and delivery firms received 262 million parcels and delivered 282 million, down 8.1% and 6%, respectively, from a day earlier, according to data provided by the Ministry of Transport.
Industry insiders cited a growing number of delivery workers contracting Covid, a surge in orders placed during the “Double 12” sales festival and some couriers returning to their hometowns ahead of celebrations for next month’s Lunar New Year holidays as major reasons behind the shortage.
On Sunday, the throughput index for China’s large public logistics parks stood at 82.3, compared with 96.7 recorded on Dec. 13, a day after the “Double 12” shopping festival, according to industry information provider G7. This could be a sign that the facilities were having trouble delivering goods despite an easing of pandemic restrictions that began last month.
What’s the background: Despite the weak numbers on a national basis, delivery services in the capital city of Beijing have basically returned to normal, Jin Jinghua, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, said Monday, after logistics companies took joint actions to ensure stability of their Beijing operations.
Starting last week, some major logistics companies, including e-commerce giant JD.com’s courier arm JD Logistics Inc. and STO Express Co. Ltd., have taken a series of measures to tackle a backlog of undelivered parcels in Beijing, including adding manpower, offering financial incentives to deliverymen and extending work hours.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@gmail.com)
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