BEIJING - China's logistics industry growth continued to slow in the first quarter of this year, weighed down by shrinking demand growth and a slowing economy, new data showed on Tuesday.

The total value of social logistics goods increased 8.6 percent year on year to 47.8 trillion yuan ($7.77 trillion), according to a report released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

The growth rate was 0.8 percentage point lower than that of the same period last year, the report said.

Combined logistics expenditures in the Jan-March period totaled 2.3 trillion yuan, up 8.1 percent from a year ago. The sector accounted for 17.9 percent of China's GDP in the same period, almost flat with the percentage in 2013.

The CFLP's report highlighted that the industry's efficiency and structure have been improving despite the slowing growth.

However, the revenue growth of logistics businesses was still outpaced by cost increases, and their profitability continued to fall, the CFLP said.

The federation predicted the sector to pick up in the first half, with the total value of social logistics goods up around 8.7 percent year on year.

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