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

World

August 2026 · vs July 2026 · forecast September 2026
Corrected on 10 September 2026 and 6 October 2026 · last updated 6 October 2026 · Corrections log
Expansion · momentum easing

World logistics activity is cooling in modest expansion at 51.7 — easing.

51.7455055
Expansion · eased 0.2 MoM
Breadth
8 / 10
in expansion
Monthly change
-0.2
Coverage
8 mo
vs 8-mo range
50.5–51.9
short history
3-mo average
51.7
-0.1 vs avg
vs neutral
+1.7
Executive summary
  • Headline 51.7 (-0.2 MoM) — expansion · momentum easing.
  • Breadth — 8 of 10 sub-indexes in expansion (8 weighted + 2 diagnostic); 3 rising, 7 easing this month.
  • Employment led the move (+0.1); Warehouse Capacity the main drag (-1.3). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+1.2); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Trajectory & forecast

8-month history
ActualForecast
vs last month
-0.2
vs 3-mo avg
-0.1
vs a year ago
—
needs 12mo
8-mo range
50.5–51.9

At 51.7, World sits +0.3 above its 8-month average of 51.4. The September 2026 forecast points to 51.8 (+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 — 8 of 10 in expansion.

Recovering0
below 50 · rising
none
Accelerating3
above 50 · rising
Business SentimentEmploymentLogistics Cost
Deteriorating2
below 50 · falling
Transport CapacityWarehouse Capacity
Slowing5
above 50 · falling
Business VolumeTransportationWarehousingInventoryGoods for Sale
Magnitude of move vs prior month
Logistics Cost+1.2
Employment+0.1
Business Sentiment+0.1
Business Volume+0.0
Transportation+0.0
Inventory-0.0
Warehousing-0.0
Goods for Sale-0.3
Transport Capacity-0.9
Warehouse Capacity-1.3
Expanding
8 / 10
Rising
3 / 10
Months above 50
8
of 8
Range width
1.4
8-mo spread

What's driving it — sub-index decomposition

Profile
Weighted contribution above 50 — what builds the 51.7
Business Volume+0.62
Warehousing+0.51
Transportation+0.48
Goods for Sale+0.32
Business Sentiment+0.05
Employment+0.02
Warehouse Capacity-0.09
Transport Capacity-0.24

Business Volume and Transportation carry the most weight in the composite. This month Employment added the most to the move (+0.1), partly offset by Warehouse Capacity (-1.3). The Logistics Cost diagnostic recorded the largest single move (+1.2); it carries zero weight in the composite.

Full sub-index detail

value · weight · vs prior
Business Volume0.2252.80.0
Business Sentiment0.0850.6+0.1
Transportation0.1852.70.0
Transport Capacity0.1147.8-0.9
Employment0.0550.4+0.1
Logistics Cost0.0060.5+1.2
Warehousing0.1453.70.0
Warehouse Capacity0.0949.0-1.3
Inventory0.0051.60.0
Goods for Sale0.1352.5-0.3

Macro context & peers

28 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 51.7 it sits below the global median of 52.0; 28 of 42 economies are in expansion this month.

Regional landscape · August 2026
Where this sits in the global distribution · 42 economies
45
50
55
World 51.7
Box = interquartile range · line = median (52.0) · 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 · 25 rose · 15 fell this month
Top gainers
South Korea62.1+1.8
Austria50.0+0.8
Vietnam57.6+0.7
Denmark54.1+0.6
Top decliners
Russia45.1-2.6
South Africa48.4-2.3
Saudi Arabia48.3-1.3
Brazil50.5-0.9
Full ranking — all 42 economies
#EconomyLGIMoM
1South Korea62.1+1.8
2Vietnam57.6+0.7
3Taiwan56.1+0.5
4Sweden55.5+0.5
5India55.3-0.3
6Nigeria54.8+0.4
7Denmark54.1+0.6
8Ireland54.0+0.1
9Singapore53.7+0.3
10Turkey53.6+0.2
11United States53.4-0.5
12Malaysia53.3+0.5
13Switzerland53.1+0.4
14Poland53.0+0.3
15Netherlands52.9-0.1
16Canada52.8+0.3
17Japan52.7+0.3
18Thailand52.6+0.3
19Mexico52.1-0.1
20United Arab Emirates52.1+1.5
21Hong Kong52.1-0.1
22Spain52.0-0.3
23Argentina51.8+0.2
24Indonesia51.8+0.2
25Italy51.00.0
26Norway50.80.0
27Brazil50.5-0.9
28Morocco50.3+0.2
29China50.0-0.4
30Austria50.0+0.8
31Algeria49.9+0.3
32Germany49.6-0.3
33United Kingdom49.3+0.2
34Australia49.2+0.1
35Israel48.7-0.2
36Philippines48.6+0.4
37South Africa48.4-2.3
38Saudi Arabia48.3-1.3
39Egypt47.7+0.6
40Belgium46.1-0.2
41Russia45.1-2.6
42France44.4-0.4

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. 8 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. August 2026 edition, published September 2026. MethodologyCite — Source: World Logistics Index, World Research Institute (WRI), worldresearch.org (August 2026).