United States LMI Logistics Managers Index

The Logistics Manager’s Index in the US edged up to 59.3 in August 2025 from to 59.2 in July, with upward pressure coming from inventory and warehousing metrics. Inventory Level expansion went up (+2.7 to 58.2), which in turn pushed Inventory Costs (+7.3 to 79.2) and Warehousing Prices (+3.9 to 72.2) higher while Warehousing Capacity expansion slowed (-0.6 to 50.5). On the other hand, downward pressure came from transportation metrics. There were notable drops in both Transportation Prices (-6.9 to 56.1) and Transportation Utilization (-4.8 to 54.7). At the same time, available Transportation Capacity increased (+4.7 to 57.3). While these are not necessarily seismic shifts on their own, the fact that Transportation Capacity is now expanding faster than Transportation Prices is significant as it represents a mild negative freight inversion.

The Logistics Manager’s Index in the US declined to 59.2 in July 2025 from 60.7 in June, indicating a broader slowdown in the logistics sector. This was largely driven by a sharp deceleration in the rate of growth for Inventory Costs (-9.9 to 71.9), amid a dip in the expansion of Inventory Levels (-4.2 to 55.2) which led directly to Warehousing Capacity moving back into expansion territory (+3.3 to 51.1). All of these shifts are primarily driven by either our Upstream or smaller (<999 employees) respondents. Larger firms and Downstream retailers are actually reporting contracting inventories, more capacity, and lower price expansion as they attempt to maintain JIT inventory management strategies to avoid higher costs. Transportation Utilization was up (+6.6 to 59.5), but Transportation Capacity (+0.2 to 52.6) and Transportation Prices (+1.0 to 63.0) remained fairly consistent to a slow freight recovery observed through much of 2025.

The US Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) rose to 60.7 in June 2025, up from 59.4 in May. This is only the third reading above 60.0 in the past two and a half years—all of which have occurred in the last six months—highlighting an elevated and somewhat unseasonal level of supply chain activity in the first half of 2025. The increase in the overall index was driven primarily by a sharp rise in Inventory Levels, which surged 8.3 points to 59.8. Most of the growth occurred in the first half of June, as importers moved quickly to capitalize on a pause in the most punitive tariffs. As a result, Inventory Costs rose by 2.5 points to 80.9—the first time this metric has exceeded 80.0 since October 2022, when supply chains were still grappling with post-COVID inventory distortions. Meanwhile, Warehousing Capacity declined by 2.2 points to 47.8, entering contraction for the first time since January 2023.