Country slips anew in logistics ranking

THE PHILIPPINES fell for the second time in a row in a World Bank ranking that tracks how efficiently goods can be traded across borders.

The country placed 57th out of 160 in the 2014 Logistics Performance Index, lower than its previous ranking of 52nd out of 155 in 2012. In 2010 the Philippines was 44th out of 155 economies, improving from 65th out of 150 in 2007.

The report, which stresses the importance of logistics to trade expansion and overall economic growth, culled responses from 1,000 international freight forwarders between October and December 2013.

The Philippines was overtaken this year by neighbors Vietnam and Indonesia. It also lagged behind Singapore — which was booted out of the top spot by Germany — Malaysia and Thailand.

Globally, the other economies in the top 10 aside from Germany and Singapore were the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, the United States and Japan.

At the bottom were Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.

The Philippines scored lower in four out of six indicators, offsetting improvements in two.

In terms of clearance processes and ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, the Philippines moved up 20 places to 47th and 21 notches to 35th, respectively.

These improvements, however, were offset by poorer showings for transport infrastructure, quality of logistics service providers, tracking and tracing, and in meeting expected delivery times at 75th, 61st, 64th, and 90th, respectively.

The government, a business leader said, needs to revise existing laws to align the country’s customs processes with international standards.

“We are still living in some antiquated customs laws and until we pass the Customs Modernization and Tariffs Act, shipping goods to and from the Philippines will be difficult,” Philippine Exporters Confederation President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said. — Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag, BUsinessworld