China's logistics sector grows 5.6 pct in Q1-Q3

China's logistics sector reported steady growth in the first three quarters of this year, indicating signs of stabilization and recovery in the sector, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Tuesday.

The country's social logistics rose 5.6 percent year on year to 258.2 trillion yuan (about 36 trillion U.S. dollars) during the January-September period, the federation said.

Data also showed that quarterly growth rates have consistently remained above 5 percent. In September, logistics demand showed notable upward momentum, driven by the impact of a package of incremental policies.

"The logistics industry is becoming increasingly dynamic. For example, fueled by a package of policies, the demand for logistics in the industrial sector is notably strong," said Liu Yuhang, director of the China Logistics Information Center.

In the first three quarters, over 92 percent of industrial logistics saw year-on-year growth, with more than 90 percent of regions reporting increases in the logistics volume of industrial goods, leading to a more than 60-percent rise in the physical volume of industrial products.

During the period, the logistics volume for both broadcast and television equipment and telecommunication equipment grew by over 10 percent. Meanwhile, the logistics volume for food manufacturing machinery and specialized agricultural processing equipment grew by over 30 percent, driving 7 to 10 percent bumps in logistics for upstream and downstream industries, such as non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, as well as metal products.

In the first nine months, the logistics volume for the high-tech manufacturing sector maintained a year-on-year growth rate of 9.1 percent, with growths in intelligent UAV manufacturing and smart vehicle equipment manufacturing exceeding 30 percent. Moreover, the logistics volume for smart products like virtual reality devices and smartphones increased by over 10 percent year on year.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 145 pips to 6.9056 against the U.S. dollar Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.