The Stifel Logistics Confidence Index - which measure logistics industry outlook - has reached its 14 consecutive months of negative confidence, with the numbers suggesting this will continue into 2017. As reflected by the performance of the Index, global trade remains at a low ebb, as it has for some time.

The Stifel Logistics Confidence Index - which measure logistics industry outlook - remained below the neutral mark in October at 49.4, but once more noted a slight improvement against the previous month, according to global logistics researcher Transport Intelligence. In a sign that the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping has had little overall effect upon the container shipping industry, the October Sea Freight Confidence Index remained unchanged from September, at 49.0 points.

A weak trend of improvement in the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index is evident, though the Index is still short of the neutral 50 point mark.

With a score of 45.9, the January edition of the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index has marked a monthly recovery in an otherwise gloomy tale of decline.

With a score of 45.4, the December edition of the Stifel Index has recorded its lowest-ever total, amidst a continued pattern of decline.

For the sixth month in succession, the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index declined. This trend resulted in the November Index score falling to the lowest registered for three years. The monthly decline registered in airfreight was more moderate than that witnessed in sea freight; the former was down by 0.4 points to 48.9, whilst the latter dropped 2.8 points, amounting to 46.1.

The European road freight market grew by 2.9 percent in 2014, but markets there have distinctly different dynamics in both supply and demand, which means no single, cohesive European road freight market exists.

The Stifel Logistics Confidence Index fell into a fifth consecutive month of decline in October. Significantly, the index has now fallen beneath the neutral 50 point mark for the first time since January 2013, with confidence in both the sea freight and airfreight markets plummeting. The Logistics Situation for airfreight was especially bad, declining by 3.2 points to 45.7. The same trends that influenced last month's decline are persisting, with weak emerging market growth, China's financial crisis, and the Chinese shift towards domestic consumption all influencing the trajectory of the index.

The Stifel Logistics Confidence Index saw a fourth consecutive month of decline in September. While the Index, at 51.5, remains above the neutral 50 mark, times may be gloomier that the numbers alone suggest.