BEIJING, June 17 -- China's express delivery sector registered rapid expansion in both business volume and revenue in May, amid a steady recovery of the Chinese economy and faster consumption growth in particular, data from the State Post Bureau showed on Monday.

The sector handled a total of 14.78 billion parcels last month, reaching a historic high for monthly business volume and jumping 23.8 percent year on year. The growth rate accelerated from the 22.7-percent increase registered in April.

Earlier data showed that the country's courier companies had handled 50 billion parcels as of April 29, a milestone achieved 32 days quicker than in 2023.

The combined business revenue of China's express delivery companies reached nearly 116 billion yuan (about 16.3 billion U.S. dollars) last month, higher than the April revenue and marking a year-on-year increase of 15.6 percent.

In the first five months, the sector's business volume hit 65.59 billion parcels, rising 24.4 percent from the same period a year earlier. It raked in 537.11 billion yuan in business revenue during the period, up 16.6 percent year on year.

The Chinese economy extended an upward recovery trend in May as indicated by the steady expansion of industrial output and a consumption rebound supported by the May Day holiday, the latest statistics showed on Monday.

In May, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.7 percent year on year, 1.4 percentage points higher compared to the previous month.