The latest edition of the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index report (LPI 2016 report) see’s Singapore retain its position as Asia’s logistic hub for the tenth consecutive year, with all other Asian Community (AC) members with the exception of Cambodia and Myanmar, seeing their rankings fall.
The reduction in Asian member countries is in line with a global trend, according to the authors of the report, who said progress in logistics performance slowed for the first time since 2007 for the world’s least developed economies. Emerging economies that implement comprehensive initiatives continue to improve their performance.
According to the 2016 LPI report countries characterised by low logistics performance face high costs, not merely because of transportation charges, but also because unreliable supply chains hamstring integration and participation in global value chains. The report judge’s logistics performance by countries on six criteria:
- The efficiency of customs and border management clearance
- The quality of trade and transport infrastructure
- The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
- The competence and quality of logistics services
- The ability to track and trace consignments
- The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery time.
