BEIJING, Nov. 24 -- China's waterway cargo transport continued the trend of steady growth from January to October, posting a 4.8-percent year-on-year increase in freight volume, official data shows.

More than 7 billion tonnes of cargo were transported via waterway in the country during the period, according to the Ministry of Transport.

In October alone, China's waterways handled 753.56 million tonnes of cargo, up from 717.17 million tonnes handled in September.

From January to October, central China's Hubei Province continued to lead the expansion of waterway cargo volume among provincial-level regions, logging a year-on-year growth of 24.6 percent.

Northeast China's Liaoning Province and south China's Hainan Province registered year-on-year growth of 24.3 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively, and were among the leading regions in terms of waterway cargo expansion.