China's logistics sector grows 4.9% in first eight months.
Logistics is the circulatory system of the economy, and its pulse reflects the vitality of the entire organism. When goods move smoothly and infrastructure develops, a country gains a solid foundation for growth and resilience even amid global uncertainty.
The total value of social logistics, an official measure of the value of goods moving through the logistics system, came in at 243.6 trillion yuan (about 36.3 trillion U.S. dollars) between January and August, up 4.9 percent year on year, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
On the demand side, industrial logistics remained stable. From January to August, the total value of industrial product logistics rose 5.3 percent year on year, with August alone posting a 4.9 percent increase — 0.4 percentage points faster than the previous month. New growth drivers played a significantly stronger role in fueling logistics demand. In August, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing grew by 16.7 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively, together contributing over 60 percent to the growth of industrial enterprises above the designated size. Meanwhile, August output for robot reducers and industrial robots rose by 11.4 percent and 34.6 percent, respectively. The rapid production growth of high-value, time-sensitive goods helped drive a surge in demand for raw materials and components.
On the supply side, the logistics market continued to expand steadily. Multimodal transport was promoted at an accelerated pace. In the first eight months, the volume of rail-water intermodal transport handled by China Railway Container Transport grew 8.6 percent year on year, while rail-road intermodal transport surged 65.5 percent. International transport corridors also expanded in both capacity and quality. From January to August, a total of 24,605 freight trains were operated on China-Europe and China-Central Asia routes, up 9.7 percent year on year, with China-Europe services alone rising 15.9 percent.
"The construction of comprehensive logistics hubs and several major logistics service engineering systems is accelerating. At the same time, investment in water and air transport has maintained double-digit growth, driving sustained improvements in the transport capacity of various modes, including shipping and railways. This has made logistics operations and connectivity smoother, ensuring unimpeded industrial circulation," said Liu Yuhang, director of the China Logistics Information Center.
As reported by CCTV+, the steady growth of China's logistics sector reflects the strength of domestic demand and the effectiveness of infrastructure investment. The expansion of multimodal transport and international corridors strengthens the country's position as a key hub of global trade.
