BEIJING - China's logistics sector posted steady growth in the first seven months of 2018, with the value of goods carried by the sector up 6.9 percent year-on-year.

From January to July, the total value of products carried by the sector rose to 154.1 trillion yuan ($22.4 trillion), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

The growth rate was slightly down from a 7-percent increase for the same period last year.

Logistics expenditure rose 8.3 percent to 7.2 trillion yuan in the first seven months, down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.

Major logistics companies saw faster growth in business revenue, which expanded 14.2 percent in the first seven months, 0.9 percentage points faster than the first half.

China's economy expanded 6.8 percent year on year in the first half of this year, above an annual target of around 6.5 percent.