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

World

April 2026 · vs March 2026 · forecast May 2026
Expansion · momentum easing

World logistics activity is cooling in modest expansion at 51.3 — easing.

51.3455055
Expansion · eased 0.2 MoM
Breadth
7 / 10
in expansion
Monthly change
-0.2
Coverage
4 mo
vs 4-mo range
50.5–51.5
short history
3-mo average
51.3
0.0 vs avg
vs neutral
+1.3
Executive summary
  • Headline 51.3 (-0.2 MoM) — expansion · momentum easing.
  • Breadth — 7 of 10 sub-indexes in expansion (8 weighted + 2 diagnostic); 6 rising, 4 easing this month.
  • Transportation led the move (+1.3); Transport Capacity the main drag (-1.7). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+3.5); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Trajectory & forecast

4-month history
ActualForecast
vs last month
-0.2
vs 3-mo avg
0.0
vs a year ago
—
needs 12mo
4-mo range
50.5–51.5

At 51.3, World sits +0.2 above its 4-month average of 51.1. The May 2026 forecast points to 51.2 (-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 — 7 of 10 in expansion.

Recovering0
below 50 · rising
none
Accelerating6
above 50 · rising
Business VolumeTransportationLogistics CostWarehousingInventoryGoods for Sale
Deteriorating3
below 50 · falling
Business SentimentTransport CapacityWarehouse Capacity
Slowing1
above 50 · falling
Employment
Magnitude of move vs prior month
Logistics Cost+3.5
Transportation+1.3
Inventory+1.3
Warehousing+1.2
Goods for Sale+0.9
Business Volume+0.7
Employment+0.0
Warehouse Capacity-0.8
Business Sentiment-1.4
Transport Capacity-1.7
Expanding
7 / 10
Rising
6 / 10
Months above 50
4
of 4
Range width
1.0
4-mo spread

What's driving it — sub-index decomposition

Profile
Weighted contribution above 50 — what builds the 51.3
Business Volume+0.55
Transportation+0.50
Warehousing+0.45
Goods for Sale+0.31
Employment+0.03
Business Sentiment-0.10
Warehouse Capacity-0.16
Transport Capacity-0.28

Business Volume and Transportation carry the most weight in the composite. This month Transportation added the most to the move (+1.3), partly offset by Transport Capacity (-1.7). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+3.5); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Full sub-index detail

value · weight · vs prior
Business Volume0.2252.5+0.7
Business Sentiment0.0848.8-1.4
Transportation0.1852.8+1.3
Transport Capacity0.1147.5-1.7
Employment0.0550.60.0
Logistics Cost0.0057.5+3.5
Warehousing0.1453.2+1.2
Warehouse Capacity0.0948.2-0.8
Inventory0.0051.8+1.3
Goods for Sale0.1352.4+0.9

Macro context & peers

33 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 51.3 it sits below the global median of 52.3; 33 of 42 economies are in expansion this month.

Regional landscape · April 2026
Where this sits in the global distribution · 42 economies
45
50
55
World 51.3
Box = interquartile range · line = median (52.3) · 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 · 31 rose · 11 fell this month
Top gainers
Saudi Arabia54.8+2.3
Morocco55.0+1.4
Denmark53.8+1.3
Brazil52.8+1.3
Top decliners
China49.8-2.0
Indonesia49.9-1.9
Belgium47.3-1.7
France47.8-1.1
Australia48.9-0.9
Full ranking — all 42 economies
#EconomyLGIMoM
1United Arab Emirates55.8+0.6
2Vietnam55.1+0.6
3India55.0+1.0
4Morocco55.0+1.4
5Saudi Arabia54.8+2.3
6South Africa54.6+0.5
7United States54.5+1.7
8South Korea54.1+1.1
9Singapore54.1-0.2
10Taiwan53.9+0.4
11Denmark53.8+1.3
12Thailand53.6+0.5
13Ireland53.4+1.2
14Malaysia53.4+0.4
15Poland53.2+0.4
16Mexico53.2+1.2
17Sweden53.2+1.2
18Turkey52.9+0.5
19Brazil52.8+1.3
20Spain52.6+1.1
21Nigeria52.4+0.5
22Canada52.2+1.2
23Philippines52.2+0.3
24Argentina52.0+0.8
25Austria51.8+0.8
26Norway51.8+0.2
27Hong Kong51.6+0.2
28Italy51.5+0.7
29United Kingdom51.5+0.7
30Netherlands51.4+0.6
31Japan51.3+0.7
32Switzerland51.0-0.1
33Algeria50.1+0.2
34Indonesia49.9-1.9
35China49.8-2.0
36Australia48.9-0.9
37Israel48.8-0.2
38Germany48.4-0.8
39Egypt48.2-0.3
40France47.8-1.1
41Russia47.6-0.9
42Belgium47.3-1.7

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. 4 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. April 2026 edition, published May 2026. MethodologyCite — Source: World Logistics Index, World Research Institute (WRI), worldresearch.org (April 2026).