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

World

May 2026 · vs April 2026 · forecast June 2026
Expansion · momentum building

World logistics activity is strengthening in modest expansion at 51.6 — firming.

51.6455055
Expansion · rose 0.3 MoM
Breadth
9 / 10
in expansion
Monthly change
+0.3
Coverage
5 mo
vs 5-mo range
50.5–51.6
short history
3-mo average
51.5
+0.1 vs avg
vs neutral
+1.6
Executive summary
  • Headline 51.6 (+0.3 MoM) — expansion · momentum building.
  • Breadth — 9 of 10 sub-indexes in expansion (8 weighted + 2 diagnostic); 3 rising, 7 easing this month.
  • Transport Capacity led the move (+2.4); Transportation the main drag (-1.3).

Trajectory & forecast

5-month history
ActualForecast
vs last month
+0.3
vs 3-mo avg
+0.1
vs a year ago
—
needs 12mo
5-mo range
50.5–51.6

At 51.6, World sits +0.4 above its 5-month average of 51.2. The June 2026 forecast points to 51.5 (-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 slowing than accelerating — 9 of 10 in expansion.

Recovering1
below 50 · rising
Transport Capacity
Accelerating2
above 50 · rising
Business SentimentWarehouse Capacity
Deteriorating0
below 50 · falling
none
Slowing7
above 50 · falling
Business VolumeTransportationEmploymentLogistics CostWarehousingInventoryGoods for Sale
Magnitude of move vs prior month
Warehouse Capacity+2.9
Transport Capacity+2.4
Business Sentiment+1.6
Business Volume-0.2
Goods for Sale-0.3
Employment-0.4
Warehousing-0.5
Logistics Cost-0.6
Inventory-0.9
Transportation-1.3
Expanding
9 / 10
Rising
3 / 10
Months above 50
5
of 5
Range width
1.1
5-mo spread

What's driving it — sub-index decomposition

Profile
Weighted contribution above 50 — what builds the 51.6
Business Volume+0.50
Warehousing+0.37
Goods for Sale+0.28
Transportation+0.26
Warehouse Capacity+0.10
Business Sentiment+0.04
Employment+0.01
Transport Capacity-0.01

Business Volume and Transportation carry the most weight in the composite. This month Transport Capacity added the most to the move (+2.4), partly offset by Transportation (-1.3).

Full sub-index detail

value · weight · vs prior
Business Volume0.2252.3-0.2
Business Sentiment0.0850.5+1.6
Transportation0.1851.5-1.3
Transport Capacity0.1149.9+2.4
Employment0.0550.2-0.4
Logistics Cost0.0056.9-0.6
Warehousing0.1452.7-0.5
Warehouse Capacity0.0951.1+2.9
Inventory0.0050.9-0.9
Goods for Sale0.1352.1-0.3

Macro context & peers

32 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 51.6 it sits in line with the global median of 51.6; 32 of 42 economies are in expansion this month.

Regional landscape · May 2026
Where this sits in the global distribution · 42 economies
45
50
55
World 51.6
Box = interquartile range · line = median (51.6) · 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 · 14 rose · 25 fell this month
Top gainers
South Korea57.3+3.2
Nigeria54.1+1.7
Russia49.3+1.7
Switzerland52.4+1.4
Taiwan55.1+1.2
Top decliners
Morocco49.5-5.5
Philippines47.9-4.3
Saudi Arabia50.7-4.1
France45.1-2.7
South Africa52.1-2.5
Full ranking — all 42 economies
#EconomyLGIMoM
1South Korea57.3+3.2
2Vietnam55.3+0.2
3India55.2+0.2
4Taiwan55.1+1.2
5Nigeria54.1+1.7
6United Arab Emirates54.0-1.8
7Sweden54.0+0.8
8Ireland53.5+0.1
9Singapore53.5-0.6
10Poland53.20.0
11United States53.1-1.4
12Turkey53.0+0.1
13Denmark52.8-1.0
14Malaysia52.8-0.7
15Switzerland52.4+1.4
16Mexico52.1-1.1
17South Africa52.1-2.5
18Thailand52.1-1.5
19Hong Kong51.9+0.3
20Spain51.7-0.9
21Canada51.6-0.6
22Norway51.6-0.2
23Italy51.6+0.1
24Netherlands51.5+0.1
25Argentina51.4-0.7
26Brazil51.3-1.5
27Indonesia51.0+1.1
28Saudi Arabia50.7-4.1
29China50.7+0.9
30Japan50.6-0.7
31Austria50.0-1.8
32United Kingdom50.0-1.5
33Algeria49.6-0.5
34Morocco49.5-5.5
35Russia49.3+1.7
36Australia48.5-0.4
37Germany48.40.0
38Israel48.3-0.5
39Philippines47.9-4.3
40Egypt46.9-1.3
41Belgium46.5-0.8
42France45.1-2.7

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