The impact of logistics performance on foreign trade: An econometric analysis for emerging markets

With the increase in globalization and the development of technology, the borders between countries have been removed, and the interaction between countries has also increased. The fact that countries have become closer to each other has led to an increase in the volume of global trade by opening the access door in the production and consumption band. Globalization has also shown its effect in the international competition environment and has led the actors in the system (countries, international companies, international organizations, etc.) to increase their international competitiveness. Logistics has an important role in reducing transportation costs and facilitating trade as part of the supply chain that plans, implements, and controls the efficiency of the flow of goods and services from origin to consumption. With global liberalization, the increase in logistics quality is expected to increase the volume of trade. The efficiency of the transportation and logistics sector not only facilitates international trade but also contributes to the efficient execution of the export and import of goods and services by the trading parties. In this context, logistics is an integrated information; packaging; storage and transportation system that meets the requirements related to time, quality, quantity and cost, which are important elements for competitiveness in international trade. In this order, where the general behavior is based on less cost and higher profit, it is understood that it is possible to stand out from the competitive environment in trade with 'logistics', which is seen as a source of competitive advantage and trade facilitator. In this context, efficiency and effectiveness in logistics performance are important factors that will determine the volume of trade among countries. In this study, the relationship between foreign trade volume and logistics performance of twenty-one countries considered as emerging market economies is analyzed. In the study, the panel data analysis method was used to analyze the real effective exchange rate, domestic gdp, world gdp, trade volume (million dollars), goods exports (million dollars), goods imports (million dollars), logistics performance index, and its sub-components for the years 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. As a result of the research, it has been revealed that the logistics performance index and its subcomponents are not statistically significant with the foreign trade, export, and import values of the countries.