China's transportation vitality index down 28.5% in March

The China Transportation Services Index (CTSI), an index measuring the vitality of the transportation sector, fell 28.5 percent year-on-year, but it has showed signs of narrowing, an industry report showed.

The index stood at 121.2 points last month, according to the China Academy of Transportation Sciences. The drop was 12.6 percentage points lower than that of February.

The index for passenger transport fell 66.4 percent year-on-year to 54.7 points last month, while that for cargo transport fell 8.6 percent to 158.5 points, with both declines narrowing from February's performances.

As the novel coronavirus epidemic has been brought under control in China, the country has made important progress in resuming production. The CTSI is back on track, said Zhou Jian, deputy director of the research consultation department under the China Academy of Transportation Sciences Information Center.

The drop in the index for cargo transport has narrowed to single digits, while although that for passenger transport fell more than 60 percent, it has bottomed out, Zhou added.

The index incorporated the transport volume of passengers and cargo of various transportation means such as railways, highways, waterways and civil aviation.

With 2010 as the base year and 100 base points, the CTSI includes passenger transport and cargo transport as two subindexes.