MANILA – The Philippines continues to improve its global ranking with the latest World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2018 edition. From 71st spot in 2016, the country leaped to 60th among 160 countries ranked according to their trade logistics performance.
“We are now reaping the fruits of the government’s reforms and these are seen globally. Guided by President Rodrigo Duterte’s mandate for a better and more comfortable life for our countrymen, we have developed a program to improve logistics services in the country to address related issues, foster more investments, and generate more jobs,” said Trade secretary Ramon Lopez.
The Philippines recorded a 2.9 LPI score in 2018 compared to 2.86 score in 2016.
The country posted increases in four out of six indicators: international shipment indicator – measures the ease of arranging competitively priced international shipments; tracking and tracing – ability to track and trace consignments; infrastructure – evaluates the quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure; and logistics competence – competence and quality of logistics services.
The Transport and Logistics sector is one of the twelve industry priorities under the Inclusive Innovation-led Industrial Strategy (I3S) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The agency has been active in promoting the sector to attract investments and has initiated reforms to address reliability, high logistics cost, as well as customs procedures.
“We are now focusing on facilitating solutions to issues on port congestion and high shipping cost,” said Competitiveness and Ease of Doing Business undersecretary Rowel Barba.
The DTI-Competitiveness Bureau (DTI-CB) is collaborating with the private sector to transform the logistics services sector through regulatory reform, assurance of quality, communication, and knowledge management (TRACK program).
Under the DTI TRACK program, several projects benefitting the logistics services sectors are lined up. These include: the establishment of a supply chain and logistics observatory; an online resource tool that will contain relevant supply chain and logistics data; standards development; marketing and promotion; and logistics planning for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The recent LPI score is proof that the Philippine government’s efforts to level up our logistics industry are now being acknowledged by global industry players. And while the quality of the country’s infrastructure facilitates faster and more efficient way of transporting goods through the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, government transactions are now being simplified and streamlined with the recent enactment of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ law,” Barba added.
The Logistics Performance Index 2018, published by the World Bank, measures performance along the logistics supply chain within a country and offers domestic and international perspectives. An online survey was conducted between September 2017 and February 2018, involving logistics professionals from multinational freight forwarders and express carriers./PN
