BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's courier sector posted steady growth in October, according to an industry index.

The China express delivery development index came in at 302.4 last month, surging 38.9 percent from the same period last year, said the State Post Bureau in a report.

The country's courier sector saw faster expansion in October, with the related sub-index for development scale jumping 32.6 percent year on year.

Over 64.1 billion parcels were delivered in the first 10 months of the year, exceeding the total number of parcels handled by the sector last year.

In October alone, the courier sector handled an estimate of 8 billion parcels, up 38.9 percent year on year. The bureau attributed the increase to strong online consumption fueled by the National Day holiday as well as the preliminary Singles' Day promotion.