Logistics activity heats up ahead of holiday peak

Economic activity in logistics grew in October, driven by a continued expansion of inventory levels heading into the holiday shopping season.

The information comes from the October Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI), released today, which rose to 70.7 compared to a reading of 70.2 in September. That’s the second highest reading in four years, behind June’s level of 71.1.

The LMI is a monthly reading of economic activity across warehousing and transportation, based on a survey of logistics managers nationwide. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in logistics activity, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Inventory levels rose 8.0 points in October as retailers stocked up for holiday sales—a move that came with a price, as the LMI’s Inventory Costs index rose nearly 9.0 points to 88.8, the highest reading for that metric since March of 2022. What’s more, the increase in inventories is affecting available storage, as both the Warehousing Capacity and Transportation Capacity indices continued to contract during the month, falling to 43.5 and 38.0, respectively, according to the report.

This story was originally published by DC Velocity. Read the full story at DC Velocity →