World Research Institute (WRI) · Logistics Index · Flagship · monthly
World Logistics Index

World

March 2026 · vs February 2026 · forecast April 2026
Expansion · momentum building

World logistics activity is strengthening in modest expansion at 51.5 — firming.

51.5455055
Expansion · rose 0.5 MoM
Breadth
8 / 10
in expansion
Monthly change
+0.5
Coverage
3 mo
vs 3-mo range
50.5–51.5
short history
3-mo average
51.0
+0.5 vs avg
vs neutral
+1.5
Executive summary
  • Headline 51.5 (+0.5 MoM) — expansion · momentum building.
  • Breadth — 8 of 10 sub-indexes in expansion (8 weighted + 2 diagnostic); 7 rising, 3 easing this month.
  • Business Volume led the move (+0.6); Transport Capacity the main drag (-0.3). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+1.0); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Trajectory & forecast

3-month history
ActualForecast
vs last month
+0.5
vs 3-mo avg
+0.5
vs a year ago
—
needs 12mo
3-mo range
50.5–51.5

At 51.5, World sits +0.5 above its 3-month average of 51.0. The April 2026 forecast points to 51.4 (-0.1 on the month).

Changes are computed from full-precision index values before rounding; readings shown at one decimal may not difference exactly. Trend classification uses the ±0.15 no-change band on unrounded values.

What changed — level vs momentum

Above the 50 no-change line; more sub-indexes accelerating than slowing — 8 of 10 in expansion.

Recovering0
below 50 · rising
none
Accelerating7
above 50 · rising
Business VolumeTransportationEmploymentLogistics CostWarehousingInventoryGoods for Sale
Deteriorating2
below 50 · falling
Transport CapacityWarehouse Capacity
Slowing1
above 50 · falling
Business Sentiment
Magnitude of move vs prior month
Logistics Cost+1.0
Business Volume+0.6
Transportation+0.5
Warehousing+0.5
Goods for Sale+0.5
Inventory+0.3
Employment+0.1
Warehouse Capacity-0.2
Business Sentiment-0.3
Transport Capacity-0.3
Expanding
8 / 10
Rising
7 / 10
Months above 50
3
of 3
Range width
1.0
3-mo spread

What's driving it — sub-index decomposition

Profile
Weighted contribution above 50 — what builds the 51.5
Business Volume+0.40
Warehousing+0.28
Transportation+0.27
Goods for Sale+0.20
Employment+0.03
Business Sentiment+0.02
Transport Capacity-0.09
Warehouse Capacity-0.09

Business Volume and Transportation carry the most weight in the composite. This month Business Volume added the most to the move (+0.6), partly offset by Transport Capacity (-0.3). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+1.0); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Full sub-index detail

value · weight · vs prior
Business Volume0.2251.8+0.6
Business Sentiment0.0850.2-0.3
Transportation0.1851.5+0.5
Transport Capacity0.1149.2-0.3
Employment0.0550.6+0.1
Logistics Cost0.0054.0+1.0
Warehousing0.1452.0+0.5
Warehouse Capacity0.0949.0-0.2
Inventory0.0050.5+0.3
Goods for Sale0.1351.5+0.5

Macro context & peers

34 of 42 economies in expansion
World map · 42 tracked economies shaded by index
contractionexpansion· 50 = no changetrackednot tracked

World is benchmarked against 42 tracked economies. At 51.5 it sits below the global median of 51.8; 34 of 42 economies are in expansion this month.

Regional landscape · March 2026
Where this sits in the global distribution · 42 economies
45
50
55
World 51.5
Box = interquartile range · line = median (51.8) · whiskers = min–max · gold ticks = regions.
Logistics momentum relative to economic size

Dots are coloured by region; economies above the dashed 50 line are expanding. Small open economies often sit high-and-left — strong logistics reads relative to GDP — reflecting trade-entrepôt roles.

Regions league · tap a row for its report
Momentum across 42 economies · 32 rose · 10 fell this month
Top gainers
Morocco53.6+2.8
Argentina51.2+1.7
Taiwan53.5+1.6
China51.8+1.4
India54.0+1.2
Top decliners
Australia49.8-1.7
Nigeria51.9-1.3
Japan50.6-0.6
Belgium49.0-0.5
Egypt48.5-0.4
Full ranking — all 42 economies
#EconomyLGIMoM
1United Arab Emirates55.2+0.6
2Vietnam54.5+0.6
3Singapore54.3+0.9
4South Africa54.1+0.5
5India54.0+1.2
6Morocco53.6+2.8
7Taiwan53.5+1.6
8Thailand53.1+0.5
9Malaysia53.0+1.2
10South Korea53.0+1.2
11Poland52.8+0.5
12United States52.8+0.6
13Saudi Arabia52.5+0.7
14Denmark52.5+0.5
15Turkey52.4+0.6
16Ireland52.2+0.4
17Sweden52.0+0.5
18Mexico52.0+0.5
19Nigeria51.9-1.3
20Philippines51.9+0.4
21China51.8+1.4
22Indonesia51.8+0.8
23Norway51.6+0.3
24Spain51.5+0.5
25Brazil51.5+0.5
26Hong Kong51.4+0.5
27Argentina51.2+1.7
28Switzerland51.1+0.2
29Canada51.0+0.4
30Austria51.0+0.2
31Italy50.8+0.3
32United Kingdom50.8+0.3
33Netherlands50.8+0.3
34Japan50.6-0.6
35Algeria49.9-0.3
36Australia49.8-1.7
37Germany49.2-0.3
38Belgium49.0-0.5
39Israel49.0-0.3
40France48.9-0.3
41Russia48.5-0.3
42Egypt48.5-0.4

How to read this report · methodology

Diffusion scale. 50 = no change vs the prior month. Above 50 signals expansion, below signals contraction; distance from 50 measures signal strength (53 is a firmer expansion than 50.5), while the month-on-month change measures the pace, not the level.

Headline. A weighted average of 10 sub-indexes — 8 weighted into the composite (weights at right) and 2 (Logistics Cost, Inventory) tracked as 0.00-weight diagnostics. Headline = 50 + the sum of weighted contributions, so the decomposition reconciles exactly.

Why track it. As a diffusion index it turns ahead of hard trade and output statistics, which lag one to two months; each edition publishes the latest completed month plus a forecast for the next, while official data is still weeks away.

Seasonality. Reported NSA (not seasonally adjusted). To strip calendar effects (Lunar New Year, mid-year lulls, Q4 peak shipping), watch the 3-month average rather than a single month-on-month move; year-on-year comparisons become available once 12 months of history accrue.

Coverage. 3 months of history for this series. The headline and percentile refer to the latest completed month; the forecast month is the forward projection published with the edition, always drawn dashed.

Aggregation. Regions and the World are GDP-weighted across 42 economies (US$107.01T, 2025 base) — larger economies carry proportionally more weight, so an aggregate reflects the economic scale of the activity it measures.

Sub-index weights
Business Volume0.22
Transportation0.18
Warehousing0.14
Goods for Sale0.13
Transport Capacity0.11
Warehouse Capacity0.09
Business Sentiment0.08
Employment0.05
Logistics Cost0.00diag
Inventory0.00diag
World Research Institute (WRI) computes and publishes the Logistics Index. 50 = no change vs the prior month. Each edition reports the latest completed month with a forward projection for the next. March 2026 edition, published April 2026. MethodologyCite — Source: World Logistics Index, World Research Institute (WRI), worldresearch.org (March 2026).