Sun Yimin, a 33-year-old courier, is increasingly busy these days. "I deliver 70 to 80 orders a day," the Hebei native told the Global Times, adding that he usually gets to the office at 7:30 am and works till 9 or 10 pm.

Despite these long hours, the salary is not as high as might be expected. "Most (of us) earn some 3,000 ($476) to 5,000 a month," he said. "Many new couriers quit within a few days of trying it and few can make it to one to two years."

The express delivery business has seen rapid growth in the last few years, and the trend is expected to continue, partly because the industry is a vital part of China's booming e-commerce sector.

According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the country's total online shopping revenue reached 800 billion yuan in 2011, resulting in 3.65 billion items being delivered by express companies.

Growing pains

Over the past five years, the express delivery sector has seen average annual growth in transaction volume of 27 percent, with the number of packages and documents processed daily increasing from 3 million to 13 million.

Analysts expect further rapid growth as the e-commerce industry is also booming. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the number of Chinese people shopping online was 185 million in 2010, but the number will rise to 329 million by 2015, making it the largest e-commerce market in the world. And spending online per capita is expected to double to 6,220 yuan a year by then.

At present, China ranks third globally in terms of daily express deliveries, with around 10 million, behind only the US and Japan. However, in terms of orders per capita, China lags far behind. 

There were 2.4 billion orders in 2010, less than 2 per person, a level much lower than 26 in the US and 25 in Japan and lower than the global average of 4.1 orders, according to Forward Business Information Corp.

The express business in China is at a burgeoning stage, featuring robust growth but also disorderly competition, Cai Jin, vice president of China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, told the Global Times.

One of the problems is a serious shortage of couriers. Li Yang, who runs a small express company in Beijing, said he has difficulty recruiting couriers.

"The work is physically demanding, and it calls for good time management, multi-tasking skills and a calm temperament sometimes," said Li.

There is also cut-throat competition in the sector, with most companies targeting the same segment of customers, and competing by cutting service prices very low while also bringing down couriers' salaries, said Li.

Three major players

China's express delivery business falls into four main categories: service within a city; service between cities; international express service; and orders concerning Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

As a State-run express service provider, EMS is the biggest player in the market with the advantage of strong capital, supporting policies from the government and outlets covering over 2,000 cities nationwide.

Since its founding in 1985, it has been the dominant player in the express sector, especially before the mid-1990s when private companies joined the industry.

Private companies are mainly focused on deliveries within cities,  with more than 75 percent of the market.

Though mostly small in scale, they are competitive in terms of price. Some companies, like Shenzhen-based SF Express and Shanghai-based Shentong Express (STO), have become established names.

"Taobao shop owners preferr to use STO, ZTO Express and YTO Express rather than SF Express, because they are cheaper," said Hudson Yang, who runs a cosmetic shop on taobao.com.

The four leading global express firms - UPS, FedEx, TNT and DHL - also have a presence in China, but so far they have mainly focused on international deliveries.

China blocked foreign firms from participating in domestic delivery of letters in 2009 when its postal law was updated. But even before 2009, foreign players had a weak presence in the domestic express business. Xu Yong, chief consultant of Shanghai-based China Express Consulting website, said some are unwilling to invest as they think the Chinese market isn't mature enough.

Who can stand out?

China will open the domestic express market further to foreign players in the near future, Da Wa, deputy president of the China Express Association, revealed to the media last November. The news triggered a mixed response, with some predicting it could be a deadly blow to private Chinese firms.

But Li, whose firm has 13 couriers, said that although foreign companies have advantages in management, service and technology, he sees no need to panic in the short term.

"Foreign players cannot afford to do what we (Chinese private companies) are doing, which is to be located in remote areas to cut costs, and to charge very low prices to stand out from the competition," Li said. They may also be put off by the huge amount of investment required to build a network of outlets.

Furthermore, some of the private Chinese firms have already built solid reputations. Jenny Zhou, who has run a scarf shop on taobao.com for four years, said that for every 100 orders from her shop, there is less than one complaint. She sees no need to drop her present delivery company, ZTO Express, for a new one.

As one of the fastest growing sectors, express firms in China are now facing mergers and takeovers, with some companies growing bigger and others shutting down, Xu said.

The government is pushing this process, by announcing more policies to help regulate the market and cut down on the delays, damage and loss of packages that have blighted the sector.

Beijing will institute new safety procedures next month. And the State Post Bureau of China said last November that it would push for an assessment system based on "timely, satisfactory service and low complaint rates" for the sector.