On August 17th， media reports indicate that starting August 4th， the base price for express deliveries in Guangdong Province has increased by 0.4 yuan per package， with the average single-package price now exceeding 1.4 yuan. All companies are required to maintain this minimum cost price of 1.4 yuan for acceptance， or face penalties. The “Tongda” express delivery brands began implementing these price adjustments from August 5th.
A franchisee， in an interview， shared that on August 5th， they received notification from their provincial branch personnel instructing them to implement the price hike immediately. It was noted that most companies quickly adjusted their prices.
Currently， major express delivery brands， predominantly the “Tongda” network， are progressively enforcing these policies. The price increase is primarily targeting special-price e-commerce shipments， especially lighter parcels under 300 grams.
Prior to this， in an effort to secure large e-commerce clients and platform resources， express delivery companies， while investing in infrastructure， often used price as their primary competitive weapon. In some regions， this even led to quotes as low as “8 mao for national delivery.”
The express delivery industry is now beginning to counter the trend of “involution” (a term often used in Chinese contexts to describe fierce， low-margin competition) and initiating a new wave of price increases. Industry insiders view this as a necessary step for the express delivery sector to move away from low-price， vicious competition and return to normal pricing. This round of price hikes is expected to be a crucial turning point for the industry’s return to rationality.
Companies should focus on providing high-value products and services to consumers through technological innovation， improved management， and optimized services. Persistently engaging in price wars and selling below cost， while it may capture market share in the short term， ultimately comes at the expense of quality， making it difficult to guarantee consumer rights.
