According to data released on Saturday, China's logistics industry experienced a decline in April after a solid recovery in March. The logistics prosperity index stood at 49.7% in April, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous month (a reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction).

A CFLP representative said the decline is partly due to holiday factors and the rapid progress of projects in early stages, calling it a normal fluctuation based on historical data. CFLP Vice President He Hui described it as a technical correction, noting that 7 out of 11 sub-indices showed growth compared to the previous month.

The sub-index for new orders has been recovering for two consecutive months, particularly in the eastern and western regions, as well as in postal and express delivery, road, rail and air transport. The total transport volume index for postal and express delivery remained in a high-growth range, with e-commerce platforms seeing a 2% year-on-year increase in average daily parcel deliveries.

Driven by demand for coal and steel, rail and road transport continued to expand. The total transport volume index for road freight stood at 53.7% (+0.3 p.p.). The air freight total transport volume index remained around 55%, with electronic components, electronics products, and fresh fruits and vegetables showing relatively rapid growth among major cargo categories.

He Hui noted that this reflects both a recovery in logistics supporting public livelihoods and consumption, as well as sustained positive development in logistics for production and construction.