China's logistics sector continues to grow in January 2026

China

China's logistics sector continues to grow in January 2026

2026-02-05 14:13 Last Updated At：19:07

China's logistics industry continued to expand across the board in January, according to data released on Thursday by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

The logistics industry prosperity index stood at 51.2 percent in January, staying above the 50-percent mark that separates expansion from contraction. Key indicators, including business volume, new orders, logistics service prices, fixed-asset investment, employment, and business activity expectations, all remained in the expansionary range during the month.

"All these major indices are in the expansion range, which reflects a stable start in terms of overall social logistics demand in January," said Liu Yuhang, director of the China Logistics Information Center.

The growth was largely buoyed by consumer logistics demand. Ahead of the Spring Festival, robust demand for holiday goods and a strong atmosphere for festive stockpiling led to rapid growth in e-commerce logistics.

In January, the postal and express delivery index reached 70.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Data showed that orders for local specialties and smart home appliances maintained fast growth during this period.

In terms of the road transport industry, its business volume index stood at 52.9 percent, a month-on-month increase of 0.2 percentage points, as demand for trunk line logistics grew steadily.

Meanwhile, the air transport industry saw its business volume index up by 0.4 percentage points to 53.6 percent, signaling a steady upward trend in aviation logistics.

Patients rushed out from hospital building as 7.4-magnitude quake hits Indonesia, killing one

At least one person has died and several others have been hospitalized after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Maluku Strait early on Thursday morning, with the quake also causing varying degrees of damage to multiple buildings in Manado, the capital city of the North Sulawesi province. The quake struck at 06:48 local time Thursday at a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of 30 kilometers, according to measurements by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

There were scenes of panic outside a hospital in Manado when the quake hit, with several seconds of intense shaking causing cracks to appear in the building of the medical facility which belongs to the Siloam private healthcare group.

Patients and medical staff were urgently evacuated to the roadside, with some seen in wheelchairs or still connected to intravenous (IV) drips, while others were even pushed out of the wards on their hospital beds. A car parked downstairs was hit by falling debris, shattering its windows.

"Some people were sleeping at the time, some had just undergone surgery, and others were receiving treatment. The earthquake damaged the hospital's ceiling, and I also saw some cracks in the walls," said Billy Lombok, the family member of a patient.

A tsunami warning was issued but later lifted following the quake as Indonesian authorities observed no significant sea level changes.