The Logistics Observatory is one of the priority projects of DTI with the aim to develop an online portal and database of logistics related information. The Observatory shall serve as a repository of useful and up-to-date data regarding the condition and performance of multi-modal logistics services sector in the Philippines. With this as a guiding point, the Observatory’s mission is to foster the culture of knowledge-sharing and benchmarking, by making the data, information, and knowledge resources available for use by all stakeholders, allowing for effective decision-making of key players.

In 2016 the DTI-CB and Worldbank-IFC agreed to develop the Logistics Observatory in response to the recommendation of National Logistics Masterplan (NLMP) and the Philippines’ commitment to the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport (AFAMT). Aside from this, there was a growing consensus among stakeholders in the logistics services sector to create a data observatory to solve the lack of useful information related to the logistics services. In a series of consultations with the stakeholders, the emerging concern was the absence of a single source of data which they could use for coming up with business strategy and policies to address logistics issues. Prior to the development of Observatory, the existing data were scattered among various government and private sector websites, if not unavailable. Some of the data are outdated, and some are incomplete. These challenges have prompted DTI and IFC to embark on the creation of the Logistics Observatory.