Sri Lanka moves to 81 from 137 in WB index

Sri Lanka's logistics sector and its international ranking, has moved up from 137 to 81 in the World Bank logistics performance index 2012.

The ratings are based on 6,000 individual country assessments by nearly 1,000 international freight forwarders, who rated the eight foreign countries their company serves most frequently. The LPI's six components include the efficiency of the clearance process (speed, simplicity and predictability of formalities) by border control agencies, including customs, the quality of trade- and transport-related infrastructure (ports, railroads, roads, information technology), the ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, the competence and quality of logistics services (transport operators, customs brokers), the ability to track and trace consignments, the frequency with which shipments reach the consignee within the scheduled or expected delivery time.

Commenting on this improvement in rankings, Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Harin Malwatte, said, “CCC is happy to note the improvements made in the ranking of the logistics index. The Chamber congratulates and appreciates the contributions of those responsible for this improvement.

Sri Lanka has moved 56 places up from 2010 in the ranking. This is a result of the considerable investments made in improving the country's logistics and infrastructure.

However, being ranked 81 also means there is definitely room for improvement. It also means that, if Sri Lanka could climb 56 spots in two years, the country has the potential to reach the top if concrete steps are taken towards achieving this aim.” Sri Lanka was ranked 81 out of 155 countries.

The rankings have improved in customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics quality and competence, tracking and tracing and timeliness.

It is noteworthy to mention the significant improvements made in customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics quality and competence and tracking and tracing while more needs to be done with regard to improving timeliness.

The report titled 'Connecting to Compete 2012' also includes a set of domestic performance indicators for 143 countries.

For these data, survey respondents assess the logistics environments in the countries where they work, providing information on the quality of infrastructure, the performance of core services, the friendliness of trade clearance procedures, and the time, cost, and reliability of import and export supply chains. Singapore is ranked number one at 4.13, Burundi the lowest at 1.61 (19 percent of Singapore's top score).