China's quarterly rail cargo volume slipped 6pc

STATISTICS from the Chinese Ministry of Railways shows that the nation's railway cargo volume dropped to 766 million tonnes during the first quarter, a year-on-year a decrease of six per cent compared to 812 million tonnes in the same period last year, Logistics Week reported.

Rail cargo movement in March was 265 million tonnes. Average daily volume rose 2.4 per cent over February, which was an increase of 200,000 tonnes. But as the Chinese New Year holiday was in January and February, when cargo must give way to passenger, the increase was not taken as a symbol of demand recovery.

The number of average daily loaded rail cars in March was 134,000, comparing to 133,681 in the first two months.

Source: Transportweekly