In the current World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI), South Africa, Egypt, Benin Republic, Botswana, Namibia, Djibouti, and Rwanda outperform Nigeria.
The LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool that helps countries discover trade logistics issues, particularly shipping, and ways to improve.
After three years of unprecedented supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and rising delivery times, the LPI report, “Connecting to Compete 2023: Trade Logistics in an Uncertain Global Economy,” measures countries’ ability to move goods across borders quickly and reliably.
The LPI assessed the ease of establishing trustworthy supply chain links and structural elements such logistics services, trade, transit infrastructure, and border restrictions in 139 nations.
The survey, based on a maximum score of 5.0, ranked South Africa as the best in Africa and 19th in the world with a score of 3.4 percent. Botswana and Egypt tied for 57th place with 3.1 percent apiece.
Botswana’s Customs performs better than Egypt’s.
In the World Bank LPI report, Benin Republic, where many Nigerian importers choose its ports for logistics, is 66th, Rwanda is 73rd, and Djibouti is 79th, all ahead of Nigeria (88th).
Congo Democratic Republic, Guinea Bissau, Mali, and Nigeria rank 88th out of 139 countries with 2.6 percent each.
Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Uzbekistan, and Russia also rank 88th.
Nigeria scored 2.6 (Customs), 2.4 (logistics infrastructure), 2.5 (international shipments), 2.3 (competence and quality), 3.1 (timeliness), and 2.7 (tracking and tracing).
The Nigeria Customs Service placed 90th out of 139 countries, behind South Africa at 31st and Benin at 65th.
The 2023 LPI report placed Singapore first in the globe at 4.3 percent, followed by Finland with 4.2 percent.
Denmark, with 4.1 percent, tied for third with Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The World Bank announced that 652 logistics specialists in 115 countries across all World Bank regions conducted 4,090 national assessments between September 6 and November 5, 2022.
The research stressed logistical resilience and dependability.
“Logistics are the lifeblood of international trade, and trade in turn is a powerful force for economic growth and poverty reduction,” says World Bank Global Director for Trade, Investment, and Competitiveness Mona Haddad.The LPI helps emerging countries discover competitiveness-boosting improvements.”
End-to-end supply chain digitalization, especially in emerging nations, is reducing port delays by up to 70% compared to developed countries, according to the LPI 2023 research. In addition, 75% of shippers exporting to high-income nations want green logistics.
The research also noted that shipping takes the greatest time, with the worst delays at seaports, airports, and multimodal facilities.
It noted that policies targeting these facilities can improve reliability by improving clearance processes, investing in infrastructure, adopting digital technologies, and incentivizing environmentally sustainable logistics by shifting to less carbon-intensive freight modes and energy-efficient warehousing.
A container takes 44 days to reach its destination from the exporting country’s port, with a standard deviation of 10.5 days, across all trade routes.
60% of international trade takes that long.
The LPI report informs logistics policymakers and stakeholders. It identifies ways to improve logistics performance and boost global competitiveness.