Following a very strong May report, the new edition of the Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI), which was issued this week, pointed to continued growth in June, with the report’s authors calling it a “significant rate of expansion.”
The monthly LMI is a joint project among researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, University of Nevada, Reno, Florida Atlantic University, and Rutgers University, and also receives support by Council of Supply Management Professionals (CSCMP). CSCMP. The LMI is written by Zac Rogers Ph.D., Steven Carnovale Ph.D., Shen Yeniyurt Ph.D., Ron Lembke Ph.D., and Dale Rogers Ph.D.
The report’s authors explained that the LMI score, or reading, is based on eight “unique components” within the logistics sector, including: inventory levels and costs, warehousing capacity, utilization and prices and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices.
The June LMI reading, at 71.1 (a reading above 50 indicates growth is occurring), rose 1.6% over May’s 69.5, with the index expanding, at a faster rate. This reading represents the first time the LMI has topped the 70-mark, since March 2022’s 76.2 reading, marking a robust rate of expansion, according to the report.
Most of the LMI’s key metrics turned in strong performances, leading to the strong June reading:
- Inventory Levels, at 60.5, increased 5.7%, expanding, at a faster rate, and flat annually with a 0.7% annual increase and up 13.1% compared to June 2024. The report’s authors said that this gain is likely due to consumer spending holding through the first half of 2026, amid high inflation and giving retailers confidence in bringing forward goods for the second half, in addition to the possibility of new tariffs coming, with the higher levels acting as a Peak Season pull-forward;
- Inventory Costs, at 75.9, fell 8.1% from May’s 84.7, and down 5.0% annually and up 12.3% compared to June 2024;
- Warehousing Capacity, at 47.5, was off 3.0% compared to May, nearly flat annually, and down 5.1% compared to June 2024;
- Warehousing Utilization, at 69.4, was down 6.5% compared to May and up 7.2% and 17.2%, respectively annually and compared to June 2024;
- Warehousing Prices, at 73.8, increased 3.1% compared to May and were up 5.5% annually and up 9.3% compared to June 2024;
- Transportation Capacity, at 30.8, was down 0.9% compared to May, contracting for the seventh consecutive month and at historically low levels;
- Transportation Utilization, at 74.7, rose 5.2%, setting a new eight-year high, and a 21.8% annual gain; and
- Transportation Prices, at 92.4, fell 3.6%, down from record highs, while still at what the report called “historically elevated levels
“Whenever we see an LMI score of over 70 it shows that the logistics components—or at least some of them—are expanding rapidly,” wrote Dr. Dale Rogers in the report. “We have not seen this level in the overall LMI since March 2022 which was as we were still getting things back online from Covid and experiencing the beginning of the Russian invasion into Ukraine. It was a time of great inflation and global uncertainty. It seems like we are feeling that uncertainty again, although many of the current economic signs show the economy is in good shape. We are just a little bit fearful of the dramatic amount of uncertainty swirling around the U.S. and its global suppliers and customers. It is an odd time where we are setting stock market records and beginning to see tremendous benefits from technological investments such as AI and advancements in semiconductors, paired with a nervousness about global and domestic policies.”
The report explained that the June LMI reading, at 71.1, is well above the all-time average of 61.6, with the robust rate of expansion largely driven by larger respondents seeing significantly faster logistics activity, at 71.3, higher than smaller respondents reporting expansion at 63.3.
What’s more, the LMI highlighted various logistics moves that both can reflect and preceded real economic movements, like: the economy as it deals with disruptions from war, tariffs, and resulting inflation; trade policy creating uncertainty, with the White House indicating the U.S. will not renew the USMCA, as well as U.S.-EU trade tensions; an uncertain job market; and the potential for rate increases from the Federal Reserve later this year.
