Recently, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing released logistics operation data for the first five months of this year. From January to May, the total amount of social logistics in China reached 13.87 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. Logistics is the main artery of society, connecting various links of production, circulation, and consumption, and is an important "barometer" of economic vitality. In the first five months of this year, logistics operations showed overall stability and further optimized structure, effectively supporting the stable operation of the industrial chain and supply chain. This is also a vivid portrayal of China's economy forging ahead and growing steadily. The demand for consumer logistics is accelerating, and new consumer formats such as instant retail are becoming increasingly mature. From January to May, the total logistics volume of goods between units and residents increased by 6.4% year-on-year. Among them, the policy has a significant driving effect. Under the policy of exchanging old for new consumer goods, logistics demand has further increased. In recent years, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have attached great importance to the development of China's modern logistics industry, issuing a series of policy documents to encourage development and promote the logistics industry to enter a new stage of high-quality development from scale expansion. The proportion of total social logistics expenses in China's gross domestic product has decreased from 18% in 2012 to 14.1% in 2024. In 2024, the "Action Plan for Effectively Reducing Logistics Costs in the Whole Society" explicitly proposes that by 2027, the proportion of total social logistics costs to GDP should strive to be reduced to around 13.5%. Under the promotion of a series of policies, new consumer formats such as live streaming sales and instant retail have emerged. Whether it is fresh food or daily necessities, consumers can quickly deliver their orders to their homes, and efficient logistics take the consumer experience to the next level. Consumer demand drives logistics growth, and upgrading logistics services is conducive to releasing consumer demand. The two complement each other and promote the sustained and healthy development of the real economy. The demand for industrial logistics maintains resilient growth, and industrial upgrading is in full swing. In May, the logistics demand in the vast majority of industrial product segments maintained resilient growth. Among them, equipment manufacturing contributes more than 50% to the growth of logistics demand, while industries such as automobile manufacturing, computer communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing all have logistics demand growth exceeding 10%. Behind the industrial logistics demand becoming the backbone of growth is the dual driving force of industrial upgrading and policy implementation. Taking new energy vehicles as an example, policy encouragement and guidance, rapid industrial upgrading, continuous product iteration, and increasingly active purchasing have made logistics transportation between upstream and downstream supply chains more frequent. The large-scale equipment update has led to a significant increase in the demand for large-scale mechanical equipment and high-end equipment procurement, as well as an increase in related logistics volume. All of this is the result of policy promotion and industrial optimization, injecting stronger momentum into economic and social development. From the perspective of the prosperous performance of logistics operations, China's logistics and supply chain industry will continue to maintain a stable and positive development trend. Domestic demand growth will become the main driving force for industry development, the market competition pattern will be further optimized, and the logistics service network will continue to deepen and adjust. At the same time, digitization, intelligence, and greenization will become key forces driving industry transformation, and the stability of the industrial chain and the ability to ensure supply will steadily improve, which will help further reduce logistics costs for the whole society. The logistics operation data for the first five months of this year sends a positive signal. The logistics industry needs to seize development opportunities, comprehensively improve service quality, timeliness, and convenience, and better meet the logistics needs of the real economy. (New Society)