LOUISVILLE, Ky. (July 26, 2012) — The Logistics and Distribution Institute Index (LoDI) for July is 67.
It was 59 in June, 63 in May, and 58 in April.
The index, named after the University of Louisville-based Logistics and Distribution Institute, was created to help area businesses monitor their market’s well-being and guide them in future investment decisions.
The LoDI Index is expected to broaden to a national scope, said Sunderesh Heragu, the institute director, an industrial engineering professor and the Mary Lee and George F. Duthie endowed chair in engineering logistics at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
The index uses data primarily from the four transportation modes (road, runway, rail and river) that are important to the region’s logistics and distribution economy to calculate a number value between 1 and 100. Lower values represent a decline and higher values an increase in regional logistics and distribution activity. Organizations that are part of Greater Louisville Inc.’s Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Network have provided data for the model.
A value greater than 50 is good, Heragu said.
Index users can use monthly data to gauge short-term potential risk and reward, he said, and as the index ages, they will be able to analyze trends. Heragu said that he hopes the LoDi Index will become a tool similar to the Consumer Confidence Index used in the marketplace.
Primary users are expected to be logistics-related businesses and warehouses around Louisville and southern Indiana. Other potential users could be government, chambers of commerce and individuals, he said. The institute plans to issue the index on the last Thursday of each month and to offer the information in advance to subscribers.
To subscribe to the LoDI index, contact Heragu at 1-502-852-2741 or [email protected].
LoDI researchers are working on the development of a real-time decision support system (RTDSS) for use by personnel in the healthcare and public health, as well as emergency sectors. The RTDSS consists of several modules which address real-time allocation of EMS vehicles, patient allocation to hospitals, location and routing of strategic national stockpile material from regional stage and store facility sot points of dispense, and others.
To view the completed software, visit https://rtdss.org and type guest for userid and freepass for password when prompted, to access the secure areas of the site.
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