13 companies including China Post, SF Express and JD have opened green passages for materials to battle against the novel coronavirus pneumonia. (Photo: Xinhua)

SF Express, a delivery service company based in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, saw its business volume go up more than 40 percent in January during the coronavirus outbreak, despite an overall downward trend in the industry.

According to the company's report, revenue for the first month of 2020 increased 14.4 percent compared with the same period last year, reaching 11.6 billion yuan ($1.65 billion). 

SF Express' revenue rise was in sharp contrast with the overall grim outlook of the delivery industry in January. According to China's State Post Bureau, the delivery industry's business volume shrunk by 11 percent, and revenue was down 12.6 percent year-on-year. 

SF Express's increase in business volume was attributable to its shipments to the epicenter of the epidemic. According to statistics from the company, as of last Friday, SF Express had booked a total of 117 cargo flights to Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, delivering around 3,038 tons of medical supplies. 

He Hui, director of the China Logistics Information Center, believes that although bigger logistics companies including SF Express are witnessing increasing volume, the shock wave of the coronavirus on small and medium-sized companies in the industry could be devastating in the short run. 

"Larger companies can afford the increased operation cost during the spring festival and amid the coronavirus," He said. "For smaller companies, the prolonged delay of work has been weighing heavily on business."

According to He, although the top 10 delivery companies in China, including SF Express, the Worldwide Express Mail Service (EMS) and YTO Express take up around 90 percent of the market in China, the vast majority of companies in the delivery industry are small businesses. 

"The shrinking order numbers and suspension of operations for such a long time can have a devastating effect on those small enterprises," He said. "However, if the epidemic can be contained in time, the effects will be short-term."

According to He, China's e-commerce grows at an annual rate of over 8 percent, and it will continue to drive the delivery business in China after the outbreak. 

"When the coronavirus crisis is over and business is back to normal, the resumed demand from China's booming e-commerce will no doubt bring back more small companies," He said.