China’s express delivery services are booming, with private couriers named the major players.

According to the State Post Bureau (SPB), the postal business model has changed over the six years ending 2014, with the number of packages transported by express delivery surging by 820 per cent and accounting for the movement of 63.9 per cent of all post in the country.

Based on the number of packages sent in 2014, the SPB averaged that for every person in China, 10.2 express delivery packages are sent.

Private firms hold 85.6 per cent of the express delivery market and made 154.1 billion yuan (US$25.2 billion) in revenues in 2014, 75.3 per cent of the whole sector’s revenues. Experts attribute the surge in express delivery services to booming e-commerce, led by Alibaba’s Taobao.