H1 Social Logistics Total Reaches RMB181.1 Trillion, Up 5.1% YoY, Driven by Structural Optimization and New

In the first half of 2025, China's total social logistics value reached RMB181.1 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%, outpacing the gross domestic product growth rate by 0.4 percentage points. By quarter, growth was 6.2% in the first quarter and 4.4% in the second quarter, reflecting a generally stable yet increasing trend. The logistics demand structure showed clear optimization and a shift in growth drivers, with high-end manufacturing and green, low-carbon initiatives exerting a stronger pull on logistics demand.

Industrial goods logistics value rose 5.4% year-on-year. By structure, logistics demand in traditional sectors remained low, while demand in high-end manufacturing maintained strong growth. Logistics demand for high-tech manufacturing and digital products manufacturing grew 13.3% and 12.3% respectively, outpacing the overall industrial goods growth rate by 7.9 and 6.9 percentage points. Import logistics value increased 2.2%, decelerating by 6.9 percentage points from the first quarter. The composition of imported goods shifted from traditional bulk commodities toward higher-value-added categories, with semiconductor manufacturing equipment imports rising 20.4% and integrated circuit imports up 8.1%; crude oil and steel imports fell 11.4% and 11.3% respectively.

Logistics demand along emerging manufacturing supply chains showed notable growth. In the first half, integrated circuit output rose 23.1% and lithium-ion battery output increased 39.3%, driving synchronized demand for high-value-added goods such as semiconductor materials, lithium battery raw and auxiliary materials, and smart in-vehicle equipment. Logistics demand for the new energy vehicle supply chain grew 6% year-on-year, with June alone seeing a 29.4% surge. Investment in equipment and tool purchases rose 8.1%, steadily boosting transport demand for industrial renovation and upgrade equipment. Renewable resource logistics value climbed 5.4%, with reverse logistics for industrial solid waste utilization and power battery recycling forming a circular linkage with front-end green manufacturing.

Logistics supply scale improved steadily, and the supply structure continued to optimize. In the first half, total logistics industry revenue reached RMB7.2 trillion, up 4.7%. The China Logistics Prosperity Index averaged 49.9%, rebounding 0.3 percentage points from the first quarter. The China-Europe Railway Express saw a 20% increase in the number of train trips, and civil aviation international routes completed a 13.9% year-on-year rise in cargo and mail throughput, with high-value-added goods such as cross-border e-commerce, electronics, auto parts, and machinery equipment forming the core transport categories.

Social logistics operations were generally stable, and achievements in cost reduction and efficiency improvement continued to solidify. In the first half, total social logistics costs amounted to RMB9.6 trillion, up 4.6% year-on-year. The ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP was 13.9%, down 0.1 percentage points from both the year-earlier period and the first quarter. Transport structure optimization contributed notably, with railway and waterway turnover rising 6.7% and 6.9% respectively, both faster than road transport. The volume of multimodal transport primarily using rail trunk lines surged 87.9% year-on-year.

Logistics value for units and residents increased 3.8% year-on-year. Online retail sales of physical goods rose 4.8%, outpacing the growth rate of overall merchandise retail sales by 3.7 percentage points. Consumption upgrading was evident, with retail sales of communications equipment by units above the designated size rising 14.4% and sales of high-efficiency home appliances increasing by over 30%. Rural retail sales of consumer goods grew 2.5%, 1.3 percentage points faster than in urban areas, as county and township logistics distribution networks continued to improve.