China's logistics industry remained in an expansion zone in December with high market expectation and increasing demand, according to data released on Wednesday by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
The logistics industry prosperity index showed a steady recovery across all four quarters of 2025, with the highest reading recorded in December as demand from the real economy remained robust.
The index stood at 52.4 percent in December, up 1.5 percentage points over the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.
The key indices for business volume, equipment utilization, new orders, capital turnover and employment all remained in the expansionary range and continued their upward trend month on month.
"Since December 2025, the overall social logistics demand has maintained vigorous growth, with several key indicators of the prosperity index remaining in the expansion zone, which indicates that the supply capacity of the entire social logistics sector is gradually improving," said Liu Yuhang, director of China Logistics Information Center, in an interview with China Central Television.
In December, the index for the total volume of logistics business reached 52.4 percent, marking its second consecutive month of growth. From a geographical perspective, this index in the eastern, central and western regions showed a balanced and positive trend, standing at 51.7 percent, 52 percent and 52.9 percent respectively, representing month-on-month increases of 1.2, 1.0, and 1.7 percentage points.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average of the total volume index of logistics business reached 51.3 percent, 0.4 percentage point higher than the average of the third quarter.
The index for logistics business activity expectation stood at 54.8 percent in December. Data show that market expectations generally remained stable at a high level, with demand for bulk energy, manufacturing and consumer goods driving positive performance across the logistics industry.
The indices for business activity expectation remained at elevated levels across the rail transport, air transport, postal and express delivery, and multimodal transport sectors in December. Notably, the multimodal transport sector saw a significant month-on-month increase of 2.2 percentage points in this indicator.
Meanwhile, the new order index stood at 51.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage point month on month.
In the month, logistics operations demonstrated robust internal development momentum, with indices related to equipment utilization, capital turnover and investment remaining stable.
Throughout the year of 2025, the average value of China's logistics industry prosperity index was 50.8 percent, with the respective quarterly averages reaching 50.2 percent, 50.8 percent, 50.9 percent and 51.3 percent.
Full-year data show that in 2025, the country's logistics industry exhibited a pattern of steady quarterly recovery, optimized sector development momentum, and resilient growth in operations.
"The index remained in the expansion territory across all four quarters of 2025, reflecting further structural changes and optimization in society's overall logistics demand since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the notable growth in people's livelihood consumption has driven new developments, while the new manufacturing sector has demonstrated relatively prominent development momentum and demand," Liu said.
China's logistics sector continues to expand in December
China's logistics sector continues to expand in December
