① The reporter visited express delivery company outlets and learned that the express delivery industry resumed work and production this year faster than in previous years, and the volume returned to normal at the beginning of the 7th and 8th; ② Many express delivery companies, such as Shentong Express and Yuantong Express, introduced various subsidy policies to promote the return of couriers to work. Many outlets of Shentong Express and Zhongtong Express have reached 100%; ③ Express delivery volume is expected to continue to rise on the eve of the Lantern Festival, slowly returning to normal levels after the Lantern Festival.
CIFA, Feb. 20 (Reporter Hu Haoqiong) “All the employees at our outlets have arrived today!” Wang Wei, head of the Shanghai Zhongshan Park Company of Shentong Express (002468.SZ), told the Financial Federation today that after the Spring Festival this year, compared with previous years, the number of pieces rose faster, and the resumption of work and production was faster.
At around 6:30 a.m. on the 20th, a CFA reporter visited the Shanghai Zhongshan Park branch of Shentong Express and saw that the branch had already begun today's sorting work. A staff member at the scene told the Financial Federation reporter that in the distribution area they are responsible for, the number of items needed to be delivered today is 25% higher than yesterday, and other colleagues are responsible for the delivery area, which has increased 50%.
On the morning of the 20th, the number of items at the Shanghai Zhongshan Park branch of Shentong Express (photo taken by a Financial Federation reporter)
“The number of items continues to increase. This is mainly due to factors such as rainy and snowy weather a few years ago combined with concentrated deliveries from merchants after a year. It is also a different place from previous years.” The aforementioned on-site staff further stated.
After the Spring Festival, it was also a critical point in time when the express delivery industry was relatively unstable. After the Spring Festival last year, due to factors such as the movement of courier workers, some listed express delivery companies had a large backlog of goods after the holiday season. This year, in order to speed up the resumption of work and production at their outlets, many express delivery companies have used new tricks.
Yuantong Express (600233.SH), in order to motivate couriers to return to work and ensure 100% recovery of express delivery, distribute year-end red envelopes to employees who return to work on time, and provide transportation allowances to reimburse transportation expenses; set up a special team, using Shanghai as an example, and arranged by the district governor, each district reserves dozens of experienced salesmen; recommends entry incentives, and grants corresponding subsidies according to the time the recommended person enters the job; online and offline recruitment, such as launching Douyin live broadcasts and attending local Spring Breeze job fairs.
In order to motivate employees to return to work after the holiday season, in addition to the various benefits and subsidy policies of the Express Delivery Headquarters during the Spring Festival, local outlets spontaneously accelerated employees' return to work through strategies such as red envelopes for commencement of construction and payment subsidies.
Wang Wei told the Financial Federation reporter that the branch provides 4 days of welfare leave for employees returning to work on time, and also covers round-trip tickets in remote areas. “In previous years, the number of pieces only began to return to normal after January 15. Last year it reached early to the 9th and 10th. This year, the number of pieces had basically reached normal in the 7th and 8th year, and had already exceeded normal by the first ten days. As of February 19, the business volume of our outlets has more than doubled year-on-year, exceeding the average daily volume by 10%.”
The Financial Services Association reporter also learned that as of February 18, the average resumption rate of the entire network of Shentong had exceeded 95%, the production capacity of the entire network had basically been normalized, and the top provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang had basically resumed 100% of work.
Zhongtong Express (02057.HK) also has quite a few express delivery outlets that have reached 100%. For example, Zhongtong's Yiwu Xinke branch. Most e-commerce businesses have already resumed work, and express delivery outlets have also become busy. “We are recovering very fast this year, and quite a few old employees have brought new employees.” He Hangbin, head of the Yiwu Xinke branch, gave an introduction.
It is worth mentioning that the number of items during the Spring Festival holiday this year also increased sharply compared to the same period last year. On February 18, the State Post Office reported that during the Spring Festival holiday this year (February 10-17), the overall operation of the national postal express industry was safe and stable, and delivery channels were smooth and orderly. 1,079 million express parcels were collected, and the average daily delivery volume increased by 145.2% compared to the 2023 Spring Festival holiday; 641 million express parcels were delivered, and the average daily delivery volume increased by 82.1% compared to the 2023 Spring Festival holiday.
“Overall, the rapid resumption of work is mainly due to the good strategic measures of enterprises (this year), while the recovery in business volume is still related to the overall consumption environment.” An industry insider told the Financial Federation reporter.
Regarding the short-term trend in volume, the aforementioned on-site staff revealed to the Financial Federation reporter that it is expected that express delivery volume will continue to rise on the eve of the Lantern Festival, and is expected to exceed the daily average by 20% during the peak period. It will slowly return to normal levels after the Lantern Festival.