Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Forward Thinking

LMI up slightly in January

Logistics industry continues path of slow, sustained growth, according to latest Logistics Manager's Index report.

The logistics industry continued its slow, steady pace of growth in the first month of 2020, according to the latest Logistics Manager's Index (LMI) report, released today.

The LMI registered 54.1 in January, up marginally compared with December's reading of 54, but still above the 50-point mark indicating growth in the sector. The index has remained near 54 since September, indicating a holding pattern of sorts, according to LMI researcher Zac Rogers, assistant professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University.


"It seems like we've hit a plateau," Rogers said, pointing to steep drops in the index from November 2018 to April 2019 before it leveled off at around 56 for much of the spring and summer. "Now, we've been hovering around 54 for the fall and winter. That tells us there's stability. Basically, [we're seeing] really slow, sustained growth."

January's reading is down more than 9 points compared to a year ago, and Rogers said the slower growth pattern appears here to stay. Inventory levels rose in January, in line with seasonal expectations as companies restock following the holiday rush, but remained well below year-ago levels. January's inventory index was 54.2 compared with a reading of 66.3 a year ago. Ongoing uncertainty over global trade and the impact of the coronavirus on the supply chain may have an effect on inventory levels moving forward, Rogers added.

Transportation metrics continue to be the most dynamic measures of the LMI, Rogers added. Both transportation prices and transportation capacity remained in growth mode while transportation utilization slowed during the month, indicating an overall slowing of the sector.

"It seems to be difficult to get a lot of traction right now. Transportation seems like it's pretty slow," Rogers said, adding that the industry outlook on transportation capacity is negative. "Looking forward at the next 12 months, the predicted transportation capacity index is 46.7, down very minimally (-0.4) from December's future prediction of 47.1. This indicates that respondents are not expecting much slack [in] transportation capacity going forward."

Logistics managers are more positive about the overall industry outlook; January's overall future prediction index registered 62.8.

The LMI tracks logistics industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The LMI is calculated using a diffusion index, in which any reading above 50 percent indicates that logistics is expanding; a reading below 50 percent indicates a shrinking logistics industry. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

Visit the LMI websiteto participate in the monthly survey.

Recent

More Stories

AI image of a dinosaur in teacup

Amazon to release new generation of AI models in 2025

Logistics and e-commerce giant Amazon says it will release a new collection of AI tools in 2025 that could “simplify the lives of shoppers, sellers, advertisers, enterprises, and everyone in between.”

The launch is based on “Amazon Nova,” the company’s new generation of foundation models, the company said in a blog post. Data scientists use foundation models (FMs) to develop machine learning (ML) platforms more quickly than starting from scratch, allowing them to create artificial intelligence applications capable of performing a wide variety of general tasks, since they were trained on a broad spectrum of generalized data, Amazon says.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
diagram of blue yonder software platforms

Blue Yonder users see supply chains rocked by hack

Grocers and retailers are struggling to get their systems back online just before the winter holiday peak, following a software hack that hit the supply chain software provider Blue Yonder this week.

The ransomware attack is snarling inventory distribution patterns because of its impact on systems such as the employee scheduling system for coffee stalwart Starbucks, according to a published report. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Blue Yonder provides a wide range of supply chain software, including warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), order management and commerce, network and control tower, returns management, and others.

Keep ReadingShow less
drawing of person using AI

Amazon invests another $4 billion in AI-maker Anthropic

Amazon has deepened its collaboration with the artificial intelligence (AI) developer Anthropic, investing another $4 billion in the San Francisco-based firm and agreeing to establish Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary training partner and to collaborate on developing its specialized machine learning (ML) chip called AWS Trainium.

The new funding brings Amazon's total investment in Anthropic to $8 billion, while maintaining the e-commerce giant’s position as a minority investor, according to Anthropic. The partnership was launched in 2023, when Amazon invested its first $4 billion round in the firm.

Keep ReadingShow less
office workers using GenAI

Companies feel growing pressure to invest in GenAI

In a rush to remain competitive, companies are seeking new ways to apply generative AI, expanding it from typical text-based applications to new uses in images, audio, video, and data, according to a report from the research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG).

A growing number of organizations are identifying ways to use GenAI to streamline their operations and accelerate innovation, using that new automation and efficiency to cut costs, carry out tasks faster and more accurately, and foster the creation of new products and services for additional revenue streams. That was the conclusion from ISG’s “2024 ISG Provider Lens global Generative AI Services” report.

Keep ReadingShow less