Major Chinese couriers' sales figures last year hit 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) for the first time since the industry was created in the 1980s.

The State Post Bureau said on Jan 16 that revenue surged 39.2 percent from the previous year to reach 105.5 billion yuan. The sector delivered 5.69 billion parcels, up 54.8 billion year-on-year.

The amount marked a major milestone in the express-delivery industry, which was largely boosted by the development of e-commerce, said Xu Yong, principal analyst of the China Express and Logistics Consulting website.

"The industry's sales topped 50 billion yuan in 2010, 26 years since its debut in 1984. But it took only two years for revenue to double to the current level," he said.

But several major couriers, including branches of YTO Express Co Ltd and Yunda Express Service Co Ltd, were recently forced to suspend their air freight services by the China Air Transport Association, after packages containing flammable or dangerous goods caused fires in airport warehouses.

Xu forecast the air express delivery market is set to undergo a significant retrenchment over the next three to five years.