BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2018/32
The survey-based Logistics Performance Index (LPI) covered 160 countries this year. Russia's score places it in the mid-range of former Eastern Bloc countries - lower than current EU member states but higher than Central Asian countries except for Kazakhstan. China's ranking (26) put it ahead of some Western countries.
LPI scores are compiled from six sub-indicator scores. Russia's relative strengths were in infrastructure (61st), timeliness of delivery (66th) and logistics competence (71st). Russia performed worse in the areas of customs procedures (97th), tracking & tracing of consignments (97th) and arranging international shipments (96th).
Since the LPI was launched in 2007, Russia's highest overall ranking has been 90th and its lowest ranking 99th. The country has recently made progress in the area of customs procedures, where it still ranked 141st in 2016. The shift towards electronic customs documentation in recent years may have improved its score.
Russia's ranking has been rising also in other comparisons that measure similar institutions and features. Over the past decade, it has risen from 65th to 35th position in the infrastructure dimension of the Global Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum. Notably, Russia's rail network has risen to 23rd place, while its road network still fails to make even the top 100. The trade across borders category of the World Bank's Doing Business survey ranked Russia 100th in 2018.