BEIJING -- China's logistics industry experienced a downward trend in February largely due to holiday factors, according to a new index that debuted Tuesday.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) launched the Logistics Performance Index (LPI), showing the index for February at 50.4 percent, down from 51.3 percent in January and 53.8 percent in December.

A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion from the previous month, while a reading below 50 percent indicates contraction.

The federation attributed the drop mainly to the week-long Spring Festival holiday last month. The Spring Festival, or China's lunar new year, is the country's most important holiday.

As the index was still above the boom-bust line, the federation said the sector was maintaining a momentum of steady growth.

"The index has stayed above 50 percent since December 2011 with an average of 54.4 percent, indicating that China's logistics sector is generally in a cycle of steady and relatively fast growth," said Cui Zhongfu, vice president of the CFLP.

The federation finished a report on compiling the LPI in 2010 and began data collection from more than 300 logistics companies in December 2011.