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(Yicai Global) Sept. 4 -- The business climate index for China's logistics market fell to 53.5 in August, down 0.3 percentage points from the month before, primarily due to seasonal factors, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a press briefing.
The e-commerce logistics operations index rose by 0.6 points to 120.4, while the road transportation price index slid a point to 104. The warehousing index was up two points to 51.6 percent, Chinese financial news outlet STCN reported.
The logistics industry business climate index remained above 50 percent despite cyclical decline, said He Hui, deputy head at China Logistics Information Center, adding that consistent improvement in e-commerce logistics (as an indicator of consumer spending) and an increase of 0.6 percentage point in the new order index are demonstrations of solid economic development during the month.
The average inventory index fell 1.4 points to 50.4 percent, meaning that upstream enterprises are still in a period of de-stocking. The inventory turnover index nudged down 0.3 points to 52.1 percent, a sign of strong economic activity among upstream and downstream businesses across the supply chain.
The employment index climbed 1.1 percentage points to 50.9 percent last month. Some logistics companies suffered a labor shortage as a result of the busy farming season and hot weather in the last couple of months, but employment has remained stable overall.