Singapore, a major global and logistics hub, ranked first in a new World Bank survey of countries' capacity to ship goods.
It was the second time this year Singapore topped a World Bank list. In a report on ease of setting up businesses released two months ago, Singapore finished No 1.
At the other end of the trade logistics study were landlocked countries in Africa and Central Asia.
"Connecting to Compete: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy," a study based on a world survey of freight forwarders and express carriers, indicates that making it easier to connect firms, suppliers and consumers is crucial in a world where predictability and reliability are becoming more important than costs, the bank said.
"Being able to connect to global markets is fast becoming a key aspect of a country's ability to compete, grow, attract investments, create jobs and reduce poverty," said Danny Leipziger, the bank's vice president for poverty reduction and economic management.
Among the seven most industrialized nations in the survey, Germany was third, Japan sixth, Britain ninth, Canada 10th, the United States 14th , France 18th and Italy 22nd out of a total of 150 countries covered.
The bank said there are also significant differences among developing countries with similar incomes.
For instance, China and Chile rank 30th and 32nd, respectively while countries in higher income groups, such as oil producers tend to perform below their potential.
Another finding of the survey is that developing countries where trade has been made central to their economy perform better than others with similar incomes.
Examples include South Africa, 24, Africa's top performer, Malaysia 27 and Turkey 24, among upper middle income countries, China, 30, and Thailand, 31, among the lower middle income and India, 39 and Vietnam, 53 among the lower income.
The bank said the survey, released Monday, was the first comprehensive cross-country assessment of logistics performance by 150 countries based on replies from 800 professionals in the field.
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