3PL e-commerce business flourishes
According to Armstrong & Associates’ (A&A) newest report, e-commerce continues to be the most rapidly growing third-party logistics (3PL) segment. Retailers rely on Amazon and third-party logistics providers to help manage omnichannel and e-commerce operations.
A&A estimates that 3PL e-commerce revenues in the USA reached USD 43.4 billion in 2019. The international transportation management (ITM) 3PL segment, consisting of air and ocean freight forwarding and complementary value-added services saw 3.8% gross revenue growth in the first half of 2020.
In Q2/2020, ocean and air volumes were off, while air and ocean capacity both remained tight. This resulted in significant rate increases over last year, which drove up gross revenues.
Global third-party logistics revenues reached USD 951 billion in 2019, resulting in a mere 2.1% increase over 2018 versus the 9.1% increase it registered in 2018. Due to Covid-19 and trade war headwinds, A&A is expecting a 2.9% decrease in 3PL revenues globally. (mw)