2016年中国快递业务收入达583亿美元，从业人员超过200万人
人民日报记者 胡泽曦
2月24日，46岁的王卫上着黑色工装，下穿蓝色牛仔裤和运动鞋，出现在了深圳证券交易所大厅。随着王卫和他手下的快递员工共同敲响钟声，中国快递业巨头顺丰最终实现借壳上市。上市首日，顺丰控股总市值达到337亿美元，王卫个人资产接近200亿美元，成为中国快递行业首富。
1993年，王卫在中国南方的广东顺德创办了顺丰。如今顺丰旗下已经拥有37架全货机。
图片来自顺丰官网。
受益于互联网经济在中国不断发展，中国快递行业规模近年来迅速扩大。2016年中国快递业务量完成313.5亿件，同比增长51.7%；业务收入达583亿美元，同比增长44.6%。至此，中国快递业已连续6年保持约50%的“爆发式”增速。当前，整个行业从业人员超过200万人。
本月早些时候，中国国家邮政局发布《快递业发展“十三五”规划》，提出到2020年，中国快递业务量将达到700亿件，快递业务收入将达1165亿美元。
也有分析人士认为，中国快递业发展将告别“野蛮生长”模式，迎来拐点。传统发展模式受劳动力成本上升、资源环境制约等因素的影响日益突出。许多快递企业只是为电商配套的服务商，产品单一、利润下降、消费者投诉不断，一些网点陷入增量不增收困境。业内预计，顺丰等几大快递公司完成上市后，整个行业格局基本已定，将迎来由追求规模到追求效益的“拐点”。
目前，部分中国快递企业正在尝试依靠技术创新来寻求新的竞争力。1月31日，英国《金融时报》援引德勤中国(Deloitte China)物流与运输行业负责人宋旭军(John Song)的话说，“中国物流业仍在飞速变化中”，“至少部分物流公司自称为科技公司，这意味着它们在IT系统、大数据、自动化和最后一英里配送——比如说使用无人机和无人驾驶车辆送货——方面投入大量资金”。
Chinese express delivery industry set to focus more on profitability
By Hu Zexi from People’s Daily
Boosted by the leapfrog development of China’s digital economy, the express delivery industry has witnessed explosive growth in recent years. But analysts said that the industry is set to embrace a new era of slower growth but focusing more on profitability.
Industry insiders said that the recent listing of Chinese delivery giant SF Express could be a tipping point.
As Wang Wei, chairman and founder of SF Express, rang the bell at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with his staff on Friday, the company officially went public through a reverse merger, also known as a backdoor listing.
The company’s capitalization was $33.7 billion based on the closing price of its first trading day. The 46-year-old founder, who holds about 65 percent of the shares, saw his personal net worth swell to nearly $20 billion. The listing also made Wang the wealthiest person in China’s delivery industry.
China’s courier services have grown rapidly along with the booming e-commerce sector. The nation’s delivery industry has maintained explosive growth of more than 50 percent for six consecutive years.
The number of packages delivered increased 51.7 percent year-on-year in 2016 to 31.35 billion. Industry revenue hit nearly $58.3 billion, up 44.6 percent. More than 2 million people in China work for the industry.
The State Post Bureau of China, in an industry development plan released earlier this month, forecast that by 2020, the country is expected to handle 70 billion express parcels, and industry revenue will reach $116.5 billion.
Analysts said that as the traditional business models now encounter more challenges such as rising labor costs, resources and environment constraints, the industry is at a turning point.
They added that some companies that only serve the e-commerce sector face the dilemma of rising orders but falling revenues. Many companies offer homogeneous service, and they are experiencing lower profits and more complaints from consumers.
As industry giants including SF Express get listed, the sector will take a new shape, and it will focus more on profitability rather than size, the insiders said.
Some companies are seeking new advantages through technological innovation.
“It is still changing very fast,” John Song, who leads Deloitte China’s logistics and transportation practice, was quoted as saying in the Financial Times on January 31.
“At least some of them call themselves tech companies, which means they invest big amounts of money in IT systems, big data, automation and also in last-mile delivery, using, say, drone deliveries and driverless vehicles,” Song told the newspaper.
Pic:
Wang Wei founded SF Express in Shunde, South China’s Guangdong Province in 1993. The company now has 37 cargo planes. (Photo from the official website of SF Express)