(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- The value of goods transported by Chinese logistics companies was up 3.5 percent last year from the year before, but while the industry has recovered well from the Covid-19 pandemic there are still a number of obstacles to face, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said today.

China’s logistics firms transported CNY300.1 trillion (USD46.5 trillion) worth of products last year, the federation said. This marked a 3.5 percent gain from 2019 and a big rebound from the 7.3 percent year on year contraction in the first quarter.

The logistics industry’s overall revenue was up 2.2 percent in 2020 from the year before to CNY10.5 trillion (USD1.6 trillion), it said. The top 50 firms saw their earnings jump 15 percent to CNY1.1 trillion.

However, although the impact of the pandemic should wane this year, international political divides and anti-globalization trends will remain. Therefore it will still take some time for the world economy to stabilize, the union said.

Logistics firms are also facing rising costs and fierce competition. The logistics service price index dropped 5 percentage points last year from the previous year. Yet epidemic prevention and control measures cost them more than CNY70 billion (USD10.8 billion) in 2020, according to incomplete calculations, and are likely to rise further.

In addition, goods were overstocked last year. Inventories were up 5.2 percent in December from a year earlier and finished products in stock increased 7.5 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor