China's logistics demand slows, costs up

BEIJING - Chinese demand for logistics services is slowing further and the industry's costs have continued to increase, according to data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

The value of China's logistics industry rose 10 percent year-on-year to 67.3 trillion yuan ($10.68 trillion) in the first five months, down 0.2 percentage points from the rate for the January-April period, the CFLP said in an online statement.

The growth rate was also 3.7 percentage points lower than that of the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the sector's costs during the first five months went up 12 percent year-on-year to 3.4 trillion yuan, up 0.2 percentage points from the rate for the January-April period, the CFLP said.

During the period, fixed-asset investment in the sector increased 8.5 percent year-on-year to 1.1 trillion yuan, down 19 percentage points from the same period a year earlier, according to the CFLP.

Affected by the slowing demand and rising fuel, labor costs, main business revenues of major logistics companies rose 15.8 percent year-on-year in the first four months, down 0.4 percentage points from the growth in the January-March period, the CFLP said.

Despite the slackening demand and declining profits, the federation expects growth in the sector to increase faster in the future due to several factors, including China's recent move to encourage private capital to be invested in the logistics sector.