For immediate release← August 2026 edition release
South Africa Logistics Growth Index falls to 48.4 in August 2026 — lowest in the series
10 September 2026 — South Africa’s Logistics Growth Index, published today by the World Research Institute (WRI), registered 48.4 in August 2026, -2.3 on 50.7 in July 2026, signalling contraction in the economy’s logistics-sector activity (50 = no change).
Revised on 16 October 2026 · Corrections log
Key figures
- South Africa Logistics Growth Index: 48.4 (August 2026), prior 50.7, change -2.3
- Rank: 38th of 42 economies; 5th of 5 in Africa
- Second-sharpest fall of the 42 economies this month.
- Africa Logistics Index: 50.0
- World Logistics Index: 51.8
- Lowest reading in the published series.
- Next release (as of today): 7 November 2026, 09:00 UTC
Changes and ranks are calculated from unrounded readings, so a change can differ by 0.1 from the difference of the rounded figures shown, and economies with the same rounded reading can hold different ranks.
WRI’s assessment
South Africa’s Logistics Growth Index slipped to 48.4 in August 2026, down 2.3 points from the prior month, as contracting factory activity and surging input costs weighed heavily on the sector. The decline was primarily driven by the Transportation Index, which fell 5.5 points into contraction at 48.0 as massive diesel price increases offset recent port productivity improvements.
Full South Africa report — sub-indices, drivers and forecast →
“The decline was primarily driven by the Transportation Index, which fell 5.5 points into contraction at 48.0 as massive diesel price increases offset recent port productivity improvements.”
About the Logistics Growth Index
The South Africa Logistics Growth Index (LGI) is one of the 42 country readings of the World Research Institute’s monthly Logistics Growth Index (LGI), which combines them by GDP weight into four regional indexes and the World Logistics Index. A reading above 50 signals expansion and below 50 contraction. The World and regional Logistics Index readings are published openly at intelligence.worldresearch.org/lgi; country reports are available to subscribers, to accredited journalists via press access, and any reader may claim one complimentary country edition. Methodology: /methodology.
Charts and data on this page may be republished with attribution to the World Research Institute.
- Media contact
- media@worldresearch.org