CHINA’S transportation and logistics sectors have registered robust performances driven by pro-growth policies and consumption potential gradually unleashed since the beginning of 2023, pointing to the stable recovery of domestic demand and growing economic vitality. The country’s inter-regional passenger traffic, fueled by strong demand for business trips, family visits and tourism, surged 31% year on year to 45.66 billion from January to September, data from the Ministry of Transport showed. Among all types of transport, civil aviation trips showed the biggest growth, rocketing 126.7% year on year, followed by 120.9% waterway trip growth and a 112.4% rise in railway trips, while road trips increased by 26.8%. In addition, data concerning China’s courier sector and international goods transport also indicated rapid growth. China’s courier sector saw its delivery volume exceed the benchmark of100 billion parcels Oct. 23, 39 days earlier than in 2022, according to the State Post Bureau. Since March 2023, single-month parcel volume has exceeded 10 billion, and the monthly business income of the sector has topped 90 billion yuan (US$12.54 billion), according to the bureau. In the first three quarters, commercial cargo transport volume went up 7.1% year on year to 40.31 billion tons, according to the transport ministry. Fixed-asset investment in transport reached 2.88 trillion yuan during this period, marking 5.6% year-on-year growth. During the same period, cargo throughput at China’s ports increased 8.5% to 12.54 billion tons, with container throughput growing 5.2% to reach 230 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the data revealed. Sun Wenjian, spokesperson at the transport ministry, said that continued economic recovery and growing consumption demand were among the main reasons for the transportation and logistics sectors’ solid performances. Sun added that robust import demand for major commodities has also lent steam to the stable development of China’s logistics sector since the start of this year. The country’s total imports of iron ore, coal and grain went up 18.3% year on year to 1.34 billion tons during the period, the ministry’s data showed. Demand for freight logistics is expected to peak as the country is embracing the “Double 11” consumption season, said Zhou Zhicheng, a researcher with the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, adding that demand for manufacturing and export amid the upcoming Christmas season will further drive the rapid growth of cargo throughput at ports. (Xinhua) | 