The organizer of the Asian International Transport and Logistics Exhibition said the output value of China’s logistics industry is expected to grow 20% annually to reach RMB1.2 trillion in 2010.

In 2006, added value of China’s logistics industry rose 12.1% over the previous year, accounting for 17.1% of the total added value in service sectors, up from 16.5% in 2005.

To date, more than 20 provinces and 60 cities have initiated logistics development plans.

The exhibition, co-organized by the British-based Reed Exhibitions and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) is being held in Shanghai and has attracted 6,000 delegates from more than ten countries, including Russia, France, Belgium and Spain.

All of which you would see as good news but, sadly, the cost of logistics as applied to goods in China is about double that in the United States. This exhibition may go some part way to bring those figures closer together.