Improving logistics indexes reflect recovery in demand, business operations

Multiple logistics indexes have recently reversed their downward trajectories with improvements in market demand and business operations, indicating China’s economic engine is on track to make a comeback thanks to concerted pro-growth policies.

During the recent National Day holidays, China’s express delivery firms were swamped with orders, handling more than 4.1 billion parcels in total, the State Post Bureau said.

An industry index showed the courier market bounced back from its previous lows to become brisk in September.

The China Express Delivery Development Index, a measure of overall express delivery business activities and trends, came in at 353.1 last month, up 13.5 percent month on month.

The e-commerce logistics index reversed August’s contraction to climb to 108.1, close to this year’s high of 108.9 logged in February, according to a survey jointly conducted by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) and e-commerce giant JD.com.

The improvements are not limited to the e-commerce sector.

The index tracking the country’s logistics market performance stood at 50.6 percent in September, up 4.3 percentage points from August, reversing a two-month losing streak, according to the CFLP.

Hu Han, a researcher at the China Logistics Information Center, attributed the rebound to the implementation of macro policies, the steady recovery of household consumption, rapid growth in energy and logistics, as well as the restoration of the logistics supply capacity.

Most sub-indexes edged up last month. The sub-index for new orders came in at 50.1 percent, up 3.2 percentage points from August, indicating an increase in orders and the recovery of demand in the logistics market, said He Hui, assistant president of the CFLP.