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Logistics look to 30% yearly rise

By Zheng Lifei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-01 09:17

SHANGHAI: Driven by the country's revvingretailand car industries, the logistics sector is expected to grow 30 percent annually over the next three years, an industry report said.

Revenue in the logistics market is expected to double from $105 billion to $210 billion by 2009, according to the study released by Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate money management and services consultancy.

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Ten inland cities are emerging as logistics hotspots, boosted by a growing numbers of retailers and vibrant manufacturing, the report said.

A robust economy, dynamic export growth, expansion in retail outlets and a flourishing automotive industry are major forces driving growth, said Trent Iliffe, head of Jones Lang LaSalle's Industrial Business in China.

A tripling in the number of foreign retailers an increase from 314 in 2004 to 1,000 last year is the leading impetus for expansion in the logistics sector, followed by the automotive industry, which accounts for 16 percent of shipping activity, Iliffe said.

The industry is highly fragmented at the moment, but will see consolidation in the next few years as third-party logistics further develop, the China Logistics Report said.