With the acceleration of global economic integration and the booming e-commerce, China's air express service industry is ushering in unprecedented development opportunities. This article will deeply analyze the market trends, technical characteristics and future development directions of China's air express services to help relevant practitioners and investors better grasp the pulse of the industry.

I. Market Trends

(I) Market Demand Growth
In recent years, the demand for China's air express market has continued to grow. In 2024, the scale of China's air logistics market will reach 84.11 billion yuan. This growth is mainly due to the following factors:
Consumption upgrade: With the improvement of residents' living standards, consumers' demand for high value-added and time-sensitive products has increased, which has promoted the market demand for air express services.
Cross-border e-commerce: The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has become an important growth point for air express services. From 2015 to 2019, express delivery and e-commerce contributed 65% of the increase in external air freight and 63% of the increase in internal air freight.
Industrial logistics demand: The high-efficiency and high-end logistics demand in the field of industrial products such as chemicals, special goods, and auto parts has promoted the booming development of the air logistics industry.
(II) Service chain extension
Air logistics companies are committed to improving their "door-to-door" service capabilities and extending their services to both ends of the logistics chain. For example, companies such as China Eastern Airlines Logistics and China Southern Airlines Logistics are accelerating the transformation of traditional freight business and integrating multiple service functions such as transportation, warehousing, distribution, and information. This extension of the service chain not only improves the overall competitiveness of enterprises, but also enhances the driving role of the aviation logistics industry in the international development of the industry.
(III) Digitalization and intelligence
Air express services are moving towards digitalization and intelligence. E-freight has become an important development trend in the industry, and its demand is urgent and developing rapidly. Through the electronic data interchange (EDI) system, air express companies can provide more convenient online services, including cargo tracking, inquiry and other functions, which greatly improves customer experience.

II. Technical features

(I) Center distribution theory
Air express companies mostly use the center distribution theory to organize global networks. Express parcels collected from various places are sorted and exchanged at the distribution center in the central area, and then transported to the destination by aircraft. This method reduces the intermediate links and improves operational efficiency and delivery speed.
(II) Transport documents and operation procedures
The air express industry has its own unique transport documents and operation procedures. The proof of delivery (POD) is an important document for air express. It is made in four copies and is used for export declaration, accompanying goods, internal settlement and retention by the sender. The use of this document ensures the transparency and traceability of the transportation process.
(III) Service quality
Air express services are known for their fast, safe and reliable characteristics. Compared with traditional air cargo and postal transportation, air express has significant advantages in speed, safety and convenience. For example, intercontinental express delivery is usually completed within 1-5 days, while intra-regional express delivery only takes 1-3 days.

III. Industry challenges and opportunities

(I) Industry challenges
Infrastructure construction: The construction of air logistics facilities needs to be improved, especially the construction of air cargo airports needs to be accelerated.
Application of information technology: The application of freight information technology still needs to be strengthened to improve logistics efficiency and service quality.
Market competition: The industry is highly competitive, and new entrants are increasing, posing a threat to existing companies.
(II) Development Opportunities
Policy support: The government has introduced a series of policies to support the development of the aviation logistics industry, including accelerating the construction of professional air cargo hubs.
Consumption upgrade: Consumption upgrade has promoted the demand for high value-added and time-sensitive products, providing a broad market space for air express services.
Cross-border e-commerce: The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has brought new growth opportunities for air express services.

IV. Future Outlook

(I) Intelligent and digital transformation
In the future, air express services will be more intelligent and digital. Through big data, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, air express companies can achieve more efficient cargo tracking, forecasting and management.
(II) Green logistics
With the increase of environmental awareness, green logistics will become an important development direction for air express services. Companies will use more environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving technologies to reduce the impact on the environment.
(III) Cross-border logistics
The continued growth of cross-border e-commerce will promote the development of cross-border air express services. Companies need to strengthen the layout of international routes and enhance cross-border logistics service capabilities.

V. Summary

China's air express service industry is in a stage of rapid development, with continuous growth in market demand, continuous technological innovation, and continuous extension of the service chain. Despite the challenges of infrastructure construction, information technology application and market competition, factors such as consumption upgrading, cross-border e-commerce and policy support have brought broad development opportunities to the industry. In the future, intelligent, digital and green logistics will become the key directions for the development of the industry, driving China's air express service industry towards high-quality development.