China

Parcel deliveries delayed by snow

By Wu Yiyao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-24 07:50

SHANGHAI - A white Christmas is marked not only by snowmen, but also late gifts, according to shipping service customers in China and Europe.

Several flights between Shanghai and destinations in Europe have been canceled or delayed due to heavy snowfalls and air traffic has yet to return to normal.

"I wanted to send Christmas gifts to my friends in Shanghai, but the courier service said the mail will be delayed due to heavy snow in Europe," said Li Chuan, a freshman at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

To ship a parcel from Glasgow to Shanghai usually takes about three days, but this year it may take more than 10 days, Li said.

Packages from Shanghai to Frankfurt and Rotterdam have also been delayed due to bad weather, the Oriental Morning Post reported.

Shipping between provinces is also under more pressure as more people shop online.

"One of the online garment shops I work with delivers about 2,000 parcels every day in December, three times the rate in November," said Zhen Lin, a courier in Shanghai.

He said his firm, a small shipping company with only 30 employees, was unable to handle the work it was receiving, so his manager hired 10 more employees last week "for the peak season of the year".

Meanwhile, online shopkeepers said they have had to hire more people to "urge the shipping companies to post things on time".

Li Jiezhi, an online fruit seller in Shanghai, said: "I paid 3,000 yuan ($452) more this month to hire two people to ensure that parcels are posted on time, but they are still running about two days late on average."

China Daily