According to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on April 2, the prosperity index of China's logistics industry in March 2024 was 51.5%, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous month. The upstream and downstream activities of the supply chain tend to be active, the recovery of logistics demand is accelerating, the operational efficiency of enterprises is improving, and the growth of industry investment and market expectations continue to be consolidated.

He Hui, chief economist of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said that in March, the resumption of work and production accelerated, the upstream and downstream activities of the supply chain tended to be active, driving the recovery of logistics demand to accelerate, and the total business index, new orders index, equipment utilization index and other indicators rebounded.

Specifically, logistics demand recovered rapidly, and the total business volume index rebounded sharply. The total business index in March was 51.5%, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous quarter, and the average business volume index in the first quarter increased by 0.3 percentage points over the same period last year.

"Among them, in the field of residential consumption and trade logistics, the retail demand for physical supermarkets has recovered growth, driving the acceleration of commercial circulation, and the volume of FMCG LTL transportation and e-commerce express delivery business has increased significantly. Hu Yan, director of the logistics statistics department of the China Logistics Information Center, said.

At the same time, the micro-operation efficiency has been improved, and the profitability of enterprises has been improved in a balanced manner. Hu Yan pointed out that in March, the total logistics business index, equipment utilization index, and capital turnover index continued to remain in the expansion range of more than 50%, and the operational efficiency showed a trend of improvement. The profit index of the main business of the whole industry rose by 0.9 percentage points month-on-month, reversing the downward trend for three consecutive months.

The data also shows that the industry's fixed asset investment is stable, the employment situation is good, and the outlook of enterprises is expected to be stable. Hu said that after the Spring Festival, the progress of infrastructure projects accelerated, investment in the logistics field rebounded steadily, and the index of fixed asset investment in March rose by 0.7 percentage points month-on-month. In addition, in March, the employment index rose by 2.7 percentage points month-on-month, the employment index of the transportation industry and the postal express industry was in the boom expansion range, and the business activity expectation index of enterprises was 55.3%, rising for two consecutive months, and enterprises maintained optimistic expectations for future development.

"In the later stage, the state will introduce relevant measures to expand domestic demand, stabilize investment, and boost foreign trade, forming a policy combination, and further releasing the market demand for trade-in in industrial manufacturing, transportation and consumer goods. Hu Yan said that around the information and communication electronics, new energy, equipment manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, green and low-carbon and other fields of specialized logistics new quality productivity will be steadily formed, logistics operation throughout the year has a solid foundation. (Reporter Li Yuyou)