BEIJING, June 29 -- China's logistics industry continued to expand in the first five months of the year amid growing market demand, industry data showed Thursday.

During the January-May period, social logistics rose 4.5 percent year on year to 129.9 trillion yuan (about 17.99 trillion U.S. dollars), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

In May alone, social logistics climbed 4.8 percent from a year ago, the CFLP said.

Logistics for industrial products went up 3.6 percent year on year in the January-May period, flat with that of the first four months and contributing about 70 percent to total social logistics, the data showed.

Despite the challenges lying ahead, the federation remained confident about the growth prospects of the sector, saying that Chinese logistics enterprises boast strong resilience and have become more responsive to market demand.

The industry federation expected the sector to improve further as the economy gradually gets back to normal. Total social logistics will increase 4.5 percent in the first half of the year, it said.