China's cold chain logistics sector posted robust growth in 2024, with surging demand for transport vehicles and busy air and railway activity. Market insiders said that the growth was closely related to the nation's increasing consumption vitality. China's demand for cold chain logistics in 2024 reached 365 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, the Global Times learned from the Cold Chain Logistics Committee of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing. Sales of new energy refrigerated vehicles reached 21,368 units in 2024, up by 350.8%year-on-year. The growth has supported refrigerated vehicle dealers. A representative of Beijing Xinyuancheng New Energy Vehicle Technology Co told the Global Times that sales of new energy refrigerated vehicles by his company saw an approximately 25% year-on-year increase in 2024.
Wang Xin, Representative from Hongyu Special Vehicle in Suizhou, Hubei province, said that the company's sales of refrigerated vehicles performed well in 2024, adding that it is closely related to the nation's cold chain logistics demand for fresh foods as well as policy support for scrapping old transport vehicles. “Cold chain logistics eliminates the barriers of time and distance, aiding the sales of domestic and overseas fresh products, and the gradually unleashed consumer vitality will also generate significant growth potential,” Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times. In the railway sector, China Railway Special Cargo Logistics Co (CRSCL) reported a significant year-on-year increase of cold chain cargo volume in 2024, with demand for thermal insulation goods increasing by more than 30% year-on-year.
CRSCL has deployed advanced equipment and opened new international intermodal routes for imported fresh food connecting Chinese inland cities such as Beijing and Urumqi to Vietnam, Europe and Central Asia. China Eastern Airlines has opened its first scheduled charter flight for fresh products from Europe, which connects Oslo, Norway, to Ezhou in Hubei province. The first flight operated on January 15, 2025, carrying about 35 tons of salmon from Oslo to Ezhou. The flight covers a distance of about 8,000 kilometers, with a total duration of approximately 11.5 hours. The route is scheduled to operate twice a week, allowing for the importation of 80 to 90 tons of fresh, chilled salmon into China. In 2024, China's catering revenue reached CNY5.57 trillion, an increase of 5.3% year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The demand for cold chain logistics in China, driven by the growing need for fresh products, is experiencing explosive growth, creating significant opportunities for the development of the sector, said Zhang of iiMedia Research.
