Courier companies go hi-tech to cope with delivery rush

Workers sort out packages at a sorting center in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province on Singles Day. The festival, Chinese equivalent of Cyber Monday or Black Friday, is an annual shopping spree celebrated on Nov 11 by online buyers. [Photo/IC]

Express companies have rolled out state-of-the-art technology in the busiest time of the year, as millions of package line up for deliveries after the Singles Day buying binge.

The "Double 11" carnival, Chinese equivalent of Cyber Monday or Black Friday, is an annual shopping spree celebrated on Nov 11 by online buyers since 2009.

According to estimates from the State Post Bureau, last year's festival generated a record 586 million deliveries, and the figure will exceed 760 million this year.

The volume of traffic is becoming so great that express companies now rely on the shopping festival to boost revenue and profits.