A brake failure caused a semi-trailer loaded with cement crashing into a car, a bus and a truck on an expressway in southern Fujian province, killing 11 and injuring 35 others. A second accident happened in northern Hebei province, where a truck loaded with stones crashed into a village temple fair in Fuping county. The truck rolled over, the stones fell off and hit villagers, killing six immediately. It says two more people died in hospital from their injuries. Road accidents involving heavy trucks are common in China, where overloading is routine and where drivers often ignore safety measures.

After a lackluster first half of the year, business has started to improve at Hangzhou Yongliang Logistics Co, which operates 800 trucks that carry cargo nationwide. In August, demand picked up, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region. Anhui Expressway Co, for example, which operates five expressways in the region, said it saw 19% more vehicles in August than in the same period last year.

Sales of mid-sized and professional vehicles are expected to soar in China over the next five years due to the rapid development of the country’s logistics and highway infrastructure, according to Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-duty Truck Co in Inner Mongolia. The company aims to double its current production capacity of 100,000 units by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan period (2011-2015). By that time, it hopes to generate more than CNY40 billion in sales revenue. Su Ritu, Deputy General Manager of a truck assembly company owned by Baotou Truck Co, said the demand for heavy-duty vehicles will rapidly grow because the country will pay more attention to the construction of highways, large-scale projects and logistics infrastructure in the coming years. Baotou Truck Co sold 118,197 vehicles during the 11th Five Year Plan period (2006-2010), raising its market share to more than 5% in the country. It aims to sell 150,000 vehicles during the next four years, according to the company.

TNT Express is vying for a larger share of China’s road delivery market, said CEO Marie-Christine Lombard. China’s delivery market will reach the same size as the current U.S. market by 2020, valued at €60 billion. TNT sees opportunities in the Chinese market because many logistics companies don’t pay enough attention to prompt delivery times, and customers are demanding a higher quality of service. TNT’s day-definite delivery service ― a guarantee to deliver a package by a certain date ― reaches 1,128 destinations in more than 140 large and medium-cities across China. Other companies only do it on a limited scale, says Lombard. “China’s logistics market is dividing into two separate markets: one is dominated by domestic delivery companies, which usually have no international networks or well-known brands, but compete with each other in a cutthroat price war; the other is controlled by the major four foreign companies who focus on high-end international express business,” said Chen Zhuo, Industrial Analyst at Huachuang Securities. According to Chen, China’s logistics market will grow by 21% year-on-year in the next five years. TNT Express accounted for 33% of the €1.2 billion express business between China and Europe in 2010. Formerly part of TNT Group, TNT Express listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in May 2011, the China Daily reported.

Five ministries have launched a joint crackdown on exorbitant highway tolls after state media accused operators of earning staggering profits and adding to inflation by pushing up transport costs. Many expressway companies are jointly owned by regional authorities, which have resisted the central government’s crackdowns as they consider the tolls to be an important revenue source. Logistics costs in China last year accounted for about 18% of gross domestic product (GDP), twice the average for developed countries. Last year, the average profit margin of 19 highway companies listed on the Shanghai stock exchange was 35.5%, according to their annual reports. That ranks them alongside oil companies, securities firms and real estate developers. The average income of employees of the Ningbo-Shanghai expressway is about CNY8,000 a month, several times the local average. Its gross profit margin on highway tolls last year was 74%. Professor Zhao Jian of Beijing Jiaotong University said that the government “should change the highway companies [...] to special enterprises with little or no profit, as roads and transport infrastructure shouldn’t be a private tool for money making.”