Chinese demand for logistics services is slowing further and the logistics costs have continued to increase, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
The value of China's logistics industry rose 10% year-on-year to 67.3 trillion yuan (10.68 trillion U.S.dollars) in the first five months, down 0.2% from the rate for the January-April period. The growth rate was also 3.7% lower than that of the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the industry's costs during the first five months went up 12% year-on-year to 3.4 trillion yuan, up 0.2% from the rate for the January-April period.
During the period, fixed-asset investment in the sector increased 8.5% year-on-year to 1.1 trillion yuan, down 19% from the same period a year earlie.
Affected by the slowing demand and rising fuel, labor costs, main business revenues of major logistics companies rose 15.8% year-on-year in the first four months, down 0.4% from the growth in the January-March period.
Despite the slack demand and declining profits, it is still expected that the sector will 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.
