Modern logistical systems depend on efficiency of customs and other border agencies, ease and affordability in arranging international shipments, competence in the local logistics sector, and the ability to track and trace shipments. Except South Africa, Sub-Saharan countries perform poorly on all the main aspects captured by the Logistics Performance Index (see figure).
As a result, third-party logistical systems, so important in increasing the efficiency of production and distribution in industrial countries, are poorly developed in Africa. For all modes of transport, the most serious impediments are administrative. Corruption—in the form of bribery and abuses of official discretion without ready access to appeal—is a critical problem. For example, it has been shown that corruption can increase the shipping costs of a standard 20-foot container traveling between South Africa’s economic hub and East Africa or the Far East by up to 14 percent, and that it can increase total port costs by up to 130 percent.
Africa scores low on the Logistics Performance Index