Current status and trends of the global third-party logistics (3PL) industry

Industrial management has shaped the global economy we live in today. As part of the supply chain network, the logistics industry provides a variety of services that facilitate economic coordination between businesses. The global logistics market size was $8.4 trillion in 2021 and is expected to exceed $13.7 trillion by 2027. One of the services provided by the logistics industry is third-party logistics (3PL), which helps companies of all sizes complete their business performance and production.

Comparing by country, the United States and China generated the largest revenue in the 3PL market, accounting for nearly half of the global revenue. In 2021, the total revenue of the US 3PL industry soared to approximately $348 billion. The following data represents the global revenue stream of the 3PL market in 2020, categorized by major countries. In the United States, 3PL revenue reached $231.5 billion, making it the largest market that year.

3PL is a nascent industry in the U.S. The industry's total revenue has been growing every year, soaring to $347.9 billion in 2021 alone.

Growing economic opportunities and diverse company structures in the logistics industry breed a highly competitive business environment. As a result, new companies enter and inefficient companies exit the third-party logistics services market. In 2021, most 3PL providers experienced a significant increase in total revenue. In the year, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding, DSV, and DB Schenker were the leading third-party logistics services companies in the world. In the same year, CH Robinson, Expeditors, and UPS Supply Chain Solutions emerged as the leading third-party logistics companies in the United States. Intense competition can easily undermine the position of dominant companies in the market. For example, the Swiss company Kuehne + Nagel faced revenue fluctuations between 2006 and 2017, mainly due to fierce competition. Since 2018, the company has performed better and reached a peak revenue of CHF 36.7 billion in 2021.

Like many industries, the logistics industry is not immune to potential disruption by some companies seeking higher profits. The dynamics of the companies expose the current market leaders to uncertainty and disruption, challenging the status quo of the 3PL business with new ways of doing business that are efficient, sustainable, and more profitable. In addition to external business challenges, 3PL companies also face many internal challenges. In the 2022 survey, suppliers and users of 3PL services stated that capacity, finding or retaining, training a qualified workforce, and rising operating costs are the top three challenges in the 3PL industry. Currently, 3PL service providers provide services such as inbound logistics, integrated logistics, leading logistics, inventory management, etc. One of the innovative measures taken by 3PL companies is to integrate IoT technology into supply chain services to face the upcoming challenges in advance.

The following statistics describe the logistics services provided by third-party logistics (3PL) providers around the world in 2022. In the survey, 86% of respondents from third-party logistics providers said that their company provides inbound logistics services, which is the most common logistics service.

This statistic describes the technology services offered by 3PL providers around the world in 2021. In the survey, 94% of respondents from 3PL providers said their company offers electronic data interchange (EDI) services, making it the most common technology service.