PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica
PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica
PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica
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Chapter 9<br />
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Internal Logistics and <strong>Jamaica</strong>’s Competitiveness 42<br />
Ancile Brewster<br />
Inter-American Development Bank, Country Office, <strong>Jamaica</strong><br />
1.0 Summary<br />
It is the contention <strong>of</strong> this paper that, <strong>of</strong> the factors that militate against the sustainable<br />
and robust development <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Jamaica</strong>n economy, the poor state <strong>of</strong> internal logistics is<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the most debilitating. This assertion is based on the following factors: high<br />
transport costs per km, the low riding comfort index, and low average riding speeds, the<br />
poor road layout and inadequate levels <strong>of</strong> maintenance, warehousing, and forwarding<br />
infrastructure. This is in spite <strong>of</strong> the fact that <strong>Jamaica</strong> has one <strong>of</strong> the highest ratios <strong>of</strong><br />
road networks to land area in the world.<br />
The paper looks specifically at how improving the freight logistics performance in<br />
<strong>Jamaica</strong> could improve the competitiveness <strong>of</strong> communities, companies and, by<br />
extension, the economy as a whole.<br />
2.0 Diagnosing Logistics Performance in the LAC Region<br />
Internal logistics refers to that component <strong>of</strong> supply chain management which centers on<br />
the flow <strong>of</strong> goods (the movement, storage, gathering, and delivery <strong>of</strong> people, goods, and<br />
services) throughout the value chain – and not international logistics for which <strong>Jamaica</strong><br />
has developed quite a high pr<strong>of</strong>ile and has attracted much attention.<br />
It involves organization <strong>of</strong> inventory, production, and distribution strategies. It relates to<br />
balancing or optimizing transport volumes at lower unit costs with storage and inventory<br />
constraints which could include space and time factors, such as deterioration, cost <strong>of</strong><br />
storage, energy, etc. (Barbero, 2010).<br />
Globalization and trade liberalization has ultimately led to the increasing importance <strong>of</strong><br />
managing logistics costs in order to gain global competitiveness. Logistics costs affect<br />
the entire value chain since they impact the production function. Developing <strong>Jamaica</strong>’s<br />
capacity to be a regional transportation and logistical hub is a priority initiative <strong>of</strong> Vision<br />
2030 <strong>Jamaica</strong> and the Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTSEPF).<br />
Increased efficiency in freight logistics and the advancement <strong>of</strong> trade facilitation<br />
42 This paper is an edited version <strong>of</strong> the oral presentation given at the 15th Annual General Meeting <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Jamaica</strong> Social Investment Fund on October 06, 2011.<br />
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