BEIJING — China's courier sector reported a 4.2-percent increase in its business volume in the first four months of this year, official data showed on May 16.

The country's delivery service providers handled 31.71 billion parcels in the January-April period, according to the State Post Bureau.

During this period, business revenue of the sector gained 2.3 percent year-on-year to total 313.33 billion yuan ($46.17 billion), the bureau said.

In April alone, Chinese delivery service providers saw their business volume and revenue down 11.9 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, from a year ago.