BEIJING - China's logistics industry grew at a slower rate in the first two months of this year amid signs of an economic slowdown, new data showed on Tuesday.

The total value of goods carried by the logistics sector rose by 8.7 percent year on year to 29.3 trillion yuan ($4.77 trillion) in the first two months, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement.

The pace was down from a 9.7-percent growth for the same period of last year and 9.5 percent for the whole year of 2013, the statement said.

The slower growth came amid increasing signs of a slowing Chinese economy. The purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector retreated to an eight-month low in February and slowed for the third month in a row.

The growth of China's power consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, slowed by 1 percentage point from a year earlier to 4.5 percent in the first two months.

Logistics expenditure rose 8.7 percent to 1.6 trillion yuan. The pace was 1.6 percentage points slower than the same period of last year, the federation said.

Weaker manufacturing PMI may signal policy changes	China's softening growth slows power use