Infrastructure is a key indicator for distributing products or goods in a country's trade chain. Good and integrated infrastructure facilitates the distribution process and makes work more efficient.
The World Bank provided infrastructure scores supporting logistics performance for 139 countries worldwide, using a scale of 0-5. Higher scores indicate better infrastructure and improved logistics performance.
Singapore achieved the highest infrastructure score at 4.6 points. Switzerland followed at a considerable distance with 4.4 points.
Germany and Canada both scored 4.3 points.
Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan all scored 4.2 points.
Denmark and Belgium both received a score of 4.1 points.
Indonesia's position is significantly lower than the top performers, scoring only 2.9 points.
This infrastructure score is used as an indicator within the international logistics performance index (LPI).
The LPI is a benchmarking tool to identify challenges and opportunities in logistics performance, primarily for developing a country's trade sector.
Countries with the highest infrastructure scores also have relatively good LPI scores, above 3 points. However, the World Bank notes that a country may have a good infrastructure score but perform poorly in other indicators, affecting the final LPI score.
Besides infrastructure for trade and transportation, five other indicators are used in the World Bank's LPI analysis:
First, the efficiency of customs and border management permits. Second, the ease of arranging reasonably priced international shipping. Third, an assessment of the competence and quality of logistics services. Fourth, the ability to track shipments. Fifth, the timeliness of delivery. A total of six indicators are used by the World Bank.
"The indicators were selected based on theoretical and empirical research and the practical experience of logistics professionals involved in international shipping," the World Bank wrote in its report.
The LPI uses standard statistical techniques to aggregate data into a single indicator, transforming qualitative information into quantitative data before combining and weighting assessments.