Policies for boosting logistics performance in Latin America

Logistics, defined as the process required for transporting goods and services from the point of production to the end consumer, is a decisive factor for development and competitiveness. A country improving its score in the Logistics Performance Index by just 1 point has an average labour productivity gain of close to 35%. This is critical for Latin America and the Caribbean, since the region still lags far behind the OECD economies, and the region’s proportion of time-sensitive and logistics-intensive exports is three times more than that of the OECD countries. A range of policies need to be introduced to reduce transport costs, which, relative to tariffs, are much higher than in other regions. Gradually bridging the transport-infrastructure gap is vital for the region. In the short term, however, the region must use “soft” solutions to make the most of current infrastructure and thus improve its logistics performance and competitiveness. These solutions include providing modern storage facilities, streamlining customs and certification procedures and using information and communication technologies for logistics.