1. **Pinduoduo's Q1 Revenue Increases by 131% Year-on-Year**

   On May 23, Pinduoduo Group released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, ending on March 31. The report shows that Pinduoduo's Q1 revenue was 86.81 billion yuan, exceeding the market estimate of 76.86 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 131%. Adjusted net profit was 30.6 billion yuan, surpassing the market estimate of 15.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 202%. Adjusted earnings per ADS were 20.72 yuan, compared to the market estimate of 10.54 yuan. R&D expenses were 2.91 billion yuan, lower than the market estimate of 3.31 billion yuan. Following the announcement, Pinduoduo's total market value reached $215 billion, surpassing Alibaba.

   Source: Cailian Press

2. **Huakai Yibai Acquires Tongtuo for 700 Million Yuan**

   On May 23, Huakai Yibai announced the signing of the "Equity Acquisition Agreement," stating that it will acquire Tongtuo Technology for 700 million yuan in cash. According to the announcement, Huakai Yibai did not hold any equity in Tongtuo prior to this transaction. After the transaction, Tongtuo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, with Huakai Yibai holding 100% of Tongtuo's equity and all related operational assets.

   The final valuation of the target assets was based on the asset-based approach. As of the valuation date, Tongtuo Technology's 100% equity was valued at 769.02 million yuan. Considering a 70 million yuan dividend distributed by Tongtuo after the valuation date, the transaction price for Huakai Yibai to acquire 100% equity of Tongtuo was agreed to be 700 million yuan.

   Source: Huakai Yibai

3. **Maersk Air Cargo to Deploy First Batch of 777 Freighters**

   On May 23, Maersk announced its plan to advance its air cargo business in 2024, expecting to reach a milestone next quarter with Boeing delivering the first two 777 aircraft to Maersk.

   Maersk Air Cargo will utilize three Boeing 767-300 freighters to provide services from China to the United States, operating nine times weekly, managed by Amerijet International. Six flights will shuttle between Rockford and Hangzhou, China, with one leg including a stop in Seoul, South Korea, while the other flights will operate between Shenyang, China, and South Carolina. Currently, Maersk operates 21 Boeing 767-200 and 767-300 freighters, mostly converted from passenger planes. The two 777 aircraft are expected to arrive in late summer or early autumn and might be utilized during the busy fourth quarter.

   Source: Baixiaosheng of Cross-Border E-commerce Logistics

4. **Amazon Introduces 3 New Policies for Low-Quantity Inventory Fees**

   On May 23, Amazon announced that the low-quantity inventory fee, effective April 1, 2024, targets standard-size items with inventory levels consistently low relative to their sales volume. After a one-month transition period, Amazon has made three additional changes.

   On the US site, parent ASINs with fewer than 20 units sold in the last seven days are exempt from the low-quantity inventory fee. In the German, French, Italian, and Spanish marketplaces (supporting the Amazon Logistics European Integration Service), FNSKUs sold under the European Integration Service with fewer than 20 units sold in the past seven days are exempt from the fee.

   Low-quantity inventory fees resulting from delays in stocking and processing caused by Amazon or its managed services will be refunded by the 15th of the following month. For Prime Day 2024, Amazon will offer a limited-time waiver of the low-quantity inventory fee for items featured in Prime Exclusive Deals and Prime Exclusive BD, effective for four weeks starting on Prime Day.

   Source: Amazon Global Selling

5. **AliExpress Launches Semi-Managed Benefits for Overseas 618 Sale**

   On May 23, AliExpress announced a series of semi-managed benefits for merchants participating in the overseas 618 sale. In June, AliExpress will host two major overseas promotions: Summer Carnival (618 Summer Carnival) with pre-sales from May 29 to May 31, and sales from June 1 to June 7; and Summer Sale with pre-sales from June 14 to June 16, and sales from June 17 to June 23.

   The semi-managed benefits include a 30-day "learning period" for newly joined semi-managed merchants during which JIT order timeout penalties are waived; merchants with JIT hot products in warehouse dispatch will receive 60% of the payment in advance on the day the products are listed; warehouse-dispatched products will enjoy a 50% discount on doorstep pickup fees; and merchants meeting the platform's assessment criteria can also waive JIT doorstep pickup fees during specific promotional periods.

   Source: Alibaba Global AliExpress

6. **SHEIN, AliExpress, and TEMU Each Exceed 10 Million Users in Mexico**

   On May 23, a report from Bursátil Mexicano, based on Similar Web data, revealed that in April, the active users of the SHEIN, AliExpress, and TEMU apps were 10.1 million, 11.2 million, and 15 million, respectively, surpassing retailers like Walmart and Liverpool.

   Overall, the total traffic in the e-commerce market increased by 12% year-on-year, with app traffic growing by 20% and website traffic by 4%. This growth was primarily driven by new platforms like TEMU. However, Mercado Libre and Amazon still dominate the Mexican market, with their apps accumulating 28 million and 24.5 million users, respectively.

   Source: Bursátil Mexicano

7. **USPS Reports Q2 Fiscal Year 2024 Results**

   On May 23, the United States Postal Service (USPS) released its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 (January 1 to March 31, 2024). USPS reported a net loss of $1.5 billion, compared to a net loss of $2.5 billion in the same period of fiscal year 2023. Total operating revenue for the quarter was $19.7 billion, an increase of 2.1% compared to the same period last year.

   During the quarter, USPS saw revenue growth in its transportation, package, and mail business sectors. Compared to Q2 FY2023, revenue from transportation and package services increased by $89 million (1.2%), and the volume grew by 1.5%, adding 25 million pieces. Total operating expenses for USPS were $21.3 billion, down 3.1% from the same period last year. To date, USPS's transportation costs have decreased by $700 million compared to the same period last year.

   Source: China Postal Express & Logistics News

8. **DHL Reduces Some Air Cargo Services**

   On May 23, it was announced that due to reduced demand for cargo, US regional airline Mesa Air Group has ceased providing air cargo services for DHL. In February, Mesa and DHL agreed to gradually reduce their cargo operations.

   Mesa signed a cooperation agreement in July 2020 to provide air freight services for DHL Express using Boeing 737-400F freighters. The agreement involved Mesa operating two 737-400F freighters from DHL Express’s Americas global hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) for five years. As part of the agreement, DHL will compensate certain costs associated with the gradual reduction of services.

   Source: Baixiaosheng of Cross-Border E-commerce Logistics

9. **DHL Increases Direct Cargo Flights from Wuxi to Leipzig**

   On May 23, it was reported that Jiangsu Province's foreign trade imports and exports from January to April reached a historical high, achieving a year-on-year increase of 9.3%. As a result, DHL Express saw a significant increase in export volume through the Wuxi port in the first four months of this year, particularly for shipments to Europe. To better meet the demand for export capacity, DHL Express has increased the frequency of direct cargo flights from Wuxi to Leipzig to five flights per week.

   Source: Nanjing Customs

10. **Nanchang-Belgium All-Cargo Intercontinental Route Resumes**

   On May 23, a full cargo flight carrying 83.7 tons of goods landed at Nanchang Changbei International Airport. Under the supervision of Changbei Airport Customs officers, a flight loaded with 111.8 tons of goods took off from Nanchang Changbei International Airport to Belgium, marking the official resumption of the all-cargo intercontinental route between Nanchang and Belgium. It is reported that this route will now operate regularly with four flights per week.

   With the continuous introduction of its own capacity by Jiangxi International Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd., the Nanchang-Belgium route will increase to seven regular flights per week, further facilitating the "Gan Goods Export" air logistics channel from Jiangxi to Europe.

   Source: Jiangxi Daily

11. **Hua Hu Airport Discusses Cooperation with ZTO and YTO Express**

   On May 23, Luo Guowei, Party Committee member and Deputy General Manager of Hubei Airport Group, and Party Secretary and Chairman of Hubei International Logistics Airport Co., Ltd., led a team from Hua Hu Airport's provincial freight consolidation team to conduct market research in Shanghai and Hangzhou to gather cargo sources.

   In Shanghai, Luo Guowei visited Jin Renqun, Vice President of ZTO Express Co., Ltd., and expressed the airport's welcome to ZTO and other courier companies to establish operations at Hua Hu Airport and develop air cargo services. Jin Renqun indicated that both parties could explore cooperation in land-to-air transfer, intercontinental, and international cargo routes.

   In Hangzhou, Luo Guowei met with Li Hongxiang, President of Hangzhou YTO Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. The two parties discussed promoting land-to-air transfer, utilizing Hua Hu Airport's idle airspace resources, opening new domestic special routes, and new international routes, reaching a preliminary cooperation intention.

   Source: Ezhou Hua Hu International Airport

12. **COSCO Shipping Group Signs Cooperation with Xiamen Municipal Government**

   On May 23, it was announced that COSCO Shipping Group and the Xiamen Municipal Government have officially signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. COSCO Shipping Group first entered Xiamen in 1993, with business operations covering container shipping, passenger and cargo shipping, breakbulk shipping, port operations, logistics, and seafarer services. Currently, COSCO Shipping Lines is the top shipping service provider in Xiamen Port; the Yuanhai Terminal under COSCO Shipping Ports, as China's first fully automated terminal, has an annual container throughput of 2.7 million TEUs, accounting for more than 20% of the total throughput of Xiamen Port.

   Source: COSCO Shipping

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Cross-border e-commerce logistics Bai xiaosheng