Express companies rent 100 planes for Singles Day

(ECNS) – With Singles Day approaching, China's major express companies have requisitioned more than 100 cargo planes from airlines to deliver packages for the festival, according to qingdaonews.com.

In addition to seeking help from airlines, a few companies such as China Post, SF Express, YTO Express, FedEx, and UPS have signed cooperation agreements with railway transport sectors to move packages.

The State Postal Bureau of China summoned major express companies to a meeting on Oct. 25, requiring each company to be prepared for the upcoming delivery peak to ensure there is no delivery breakdown or warehouse overstocks.

Alibaba has predicted that over 400 million packages will be generated by online shopping during the festival, and the overall sales volume is expected to reach 30 billion yuan ($4.92 billion), compared with 19.1 billion yuan ($3.13 billion) last year.