DTI’s PH logistics development blueprint seen within Q1

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ID-100260270Work on the first National Logistics Plan (NLP) for the Philippines will begin soon, the project seen to lay down an overarching development plan for the transportation and logistics sector, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The agency is spearheading the undertaking in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development’s Advancing Philippine Competitiveness Project (USAID COMPETE).

“We intend to set up that masterplan for the logistics sector within this first semester,” Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal, Jr. told PortCalls in a chance interview on February 29.

In a separate statement, Cristobal said he recently met with officials of the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association (PISFA) and United Port Users Confederation to discuss critical issues in the transportation and logistics sector and identify the course of action for the industry.

At the same meeting, the status of the Philippine Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Roadmap was discussed. The private sector-led roadmap, spearheaded by PISFA, establishes strategies and programs designed to address problems of the logistics sector.

The roadmap is also proposing a government body on supply chain and logistics that will coordinate all initiatives related to supply chain management and ensure implementation of logistics policies and compliance with them.

READ: PH multimodal transport and logistics industry roadmap in its final stages

DTI said the Philippine Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Roadmap—scheduled to be launched on March 8 at the Manila Hotel—will serve as a guide to improving the draft NLP being crafted by the trade department’s Supply Chain and Logistics Management Division and USAID COMPETE.

Cristobal stressed the importance of harmonizing supply chain and logistics initiatives and programs in order to channel efficient allocation of limited resources to solving logistical inefficiencies, and to eventually establish a mechanism that will sustain and improve the country’s logistics performance.

“A more efficient transport and logistics system can better serve the international market, raise the country’s competitiveness, and enable local industries to take full advantage of a healthy economy,” Cristobal said.

In the Philippines, DTI noted, logistics costs account for 24% to 53% of wholesale prices; and shipping and port handling costs account for 8% to 30%, depending on the goods and routes, and 5% of the retail price of goods.

“Port congestion, high shipping and trucking surcharges notwithstanding, the Philippines remains a gateway and central entry point of international shipping and air cargo,” Cristobal said.

“We are working with various stakeholders towards a strong and comprehensive national multimodal transport and logistics development plan that will encourage investments for development and expansion of logistics infrastructure, in the long run,” Cristobal added.

According to the latest World Bank study, the Philippines is ranked 57th out of 160 countries covered in the Logistics Performance Index. The index measures the weighted average across six key logistics dimensions (customs, infrastructure, international shipment, logistics quality, tracking, and timeliness) obtained through the structured online survey of logistics professionals.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net