(Yicai) July 17 -- Chinese couriers set a new record high for parcel deliveries in the first half of this year, mainly thanks to an increase in orders over public holidays and mid-year shopping promotions.

The number of packages delivered by post offices and express delivery firms jumped 23 percent to 80.2 billion in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, according to the latest data from the State Post Bureau. Revenues rose 15 percent to CNY653 billion (USD89.8 billion).

Volumes jumped an average 33 percent a day during the annual Labor Day holiday between May 1 and 5 and 26 percent a day over the Dragonboat Festival between June 8 and 10, driving the industry’s rapid growth, the postal regulator said.

New records were also set during this year’s 618 Shopping Festival, with 13.8 billion packages collected and 13.5 billion sent between May 20 and June 16, both up over 20 percent from a year ago. Started in 2004 by Chinese online retail giant JD.Com to celebrate its anniversary, 618 has grown into one of the biggest e-commerce events in the country.

Surging business has translated into higher earnings at Chinese couriers. At STO Express, for example, net profit likely rose 72 percent to 118 percent to between CNY375 million and CNY475 million (USD51.6 million and USD65.3 million) in the first half from a year ago, according to the Shanghai-based firm.

But some industry insiders told Yicai that income per parcel has declined. Single-order income fell 9.1 percent at STO Express to CNY2.01 (29 US cents) in May from a year ago, 6.6 percent at SF Holding to CNY15.25 (USD2.10), and 16.8 percent at Yunda Holding to CNY2.03, according to the official figures.

New industry regulations and service standards introduced in March are expected to have a greater impact on the industry from this half through the first half of next year, Zhao Xiaomin, an expert on the express delivery industry, said to Yicai.

Zhao noted that the future criteria for successfully competing in the express delivery business include whether a company’s strategy can align with government policies and whether its revenue can reach CNY100 billion.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev