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A logistics worker transports imported Chilean cherries by forklift at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on November 20, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines

China's logistics sector expanded 5.3 percent year-on-year to reach 56.3 trillion yuan ($7.76 trillion) in the first two months of 2025. The sector sustained a steady recovery, with high-tech manufacturing logistics leading the growth, data from the China Logistics Information Center (CLIC) showed on Sunday.

Manufacturing-related logistics demand rose steadily in January-February. The total logistics volume of industrial products grew 5.9 percent year-on-year, with demand for high-tech manufacturing logistics up by 9.1 percent.

The integrated development of industries, particularly in technology, electronics and chemicals, drove nearly 30 percent growth in the output of robots and industrial-use computers and systems. The production of new chemical materials, such as carbon fiber composites and rare-earth magnetic materials, also maintained strong growth.

Government stimulus policies promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins have helped drive faster logistics demand growth. Logistics demand in railway equipment manufacturing rose more than 20 percent year-on-year, CLIC data showed.

Driven by policies such as vehicle scrappage and trade-in subsidies, automobile manufacturing grew 12 percent year-on-year, marking four consecutive months of double-digit growth. Home appliance manufacturing rose by 10.1 percent, supported by trade-in programs, with the output of household refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances seeing double-digit growth.

Meanwhile, as the initiative to boost consumption ramp up, rural consumer market has been expanding too, with rurla logistics demand steadily increasing. In the January-February period, rural retail sales grew by 4.6 percent year-on-year.

At the same time, driven by artificial intelligence, big data and deepening digitalization, new consumption scenarios are evolving, supporting consistent growth in e-commerce logistics. 

China's logistics sector showed stable growth and a moderate recovery in the first two months of 2025, He Hui, chief economist of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), told the Global Times on Sunday.

Both industrial and consumer goods logistics maintained stable expansion rates, while accelerating construction activity helped boost logistics demand. This indicates that the government's effective policy support is shoring up logistics sector operations, He Hui noted.

Due to a complex global trade landscape, uncertainties in international and domestic supply chains may further heighten demand for "a more responsive logistics network," the CLIC noted. 

In November 2024, China issued a plan to reduce logistics sector cost, aiming to cut the ratio of logistics cost to GDP to about 13.5 percent by 2027. The country aims to foster a group of globally competitive modern logistics enterprises, improving the national logistics structure and modern logistics service network. A unified, efficient and well-regulated logistics market is expected to take shape, with modern logistics playing a stronger role in enhancing the resilience and security of the economy.

In 2024, China's total social logistics value reached 360.6 trillion yuan, up by 5.8 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.6 percentage points from 2023, CFLP data said.