BEIJING -- China's courier service providers reported a steady increase in express delivery volume in the first five months of the year, data from the State Post Bureau showed.

From January to May, the country's courier companies handled a total of 40.95 billion parcels, up 3.3 percent year-on-year, the bureau said.

Their business revenue came in at 400.55 billion yuan ($60 billion) during the period, rising 2 percent from a year ago.

Shanghai ranked first among Chinese cities in terms of express delivery revenue in the first five months, followed by Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Jinhua and Hangzhou.

Data from the bureau also showed that the revenue of China's postal sector increased 5.9 percent year-on-year to 531.78 billion yuan in the January-May period. In May alone, the sector's revenue went up by 4.4 percent.