Steady growth in China's logistics demand

BEIJING -- Logistics demand in China grew steadily despite subdued strength in the world's second largest economy, latest data showed.

During the January-November period, goods worth 196.9 trillion yuan ($32.2 trillion) were moved around, an 8.3-percent growth from the same period last year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

Costs in the logistics sector continued to retreat as lower oil prices since June reduced transportation costs. In the first 11 months, costs rose 8.2 percent year on year to 9 trillion yuan, slowing 0.1 percentage point from the growth in the first ten months.

Earlier data showed China's gross domestic output (GDP) expanded by 7.3 percent year on year in the third quarter of this year, the slowest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2009.