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Report: 'Last kilometer' service still issue in delivery industry

By LUO WANGSHU | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2021-09-27 15:43
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Workers sort packages at a courier company in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, Jan 21, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

More than 40 percent of couriers handle more than 300 parcels a day, revealing the pressure of the "last kilometer" of China's express delivery industry, a report said on Monday.

The report was released by Express Delivery, a magazine administered by the State Post Bureau.

Customers prefer that couriers deliver and pick up parcels at their doors, but couriers, who handle such a large amount of parcels every day, prefer other ways, to save time and energy, said Ren Guoping, director of the editor's office of the magazine, citing the dilemma of the "last kilometer" problem.

China's parcel delivery industry has seen rapid development in the past decade. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, the industry has seen another boom and become an inseparable part of people's daily lives.

According to the report, since July 2020, the sector has continued to see a monthly growth rate of more than 30 percent.

It also shows that 38 percent of customers receive five to 10 parcels a month, 18 percent of clients receive 10 to 15 of them, and 24 percent of users receive more than 15.

Although experiencing rapid development, the industry is determined to improve service quality in the last part of the service chain, especially in rural areas.

In the first eight months of this year, more than 28 billion parcels were delivered and sent to rural areas, representing about one-third of the total amount of parcels across China. One in three parcels were handled in rural areas.

Chen Kai, deputy head of the bureau, said China's parcel delivery industry is strong in urban areas and weak in rural regions.

He urged improvement for the last kilometer service in rural areas.

In China, all villages have access to mail, and more than 98 percent of townships have access to parcel delivery services. The service network can reach more than 50 percent of villages.

Some 95.5 billion parcels are expected to be handled across the country this year.

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