Global Transportation Leads 3PL Growt

The U.S. third party logistics (3PL) market grew 16.3%, led by international
transportation management, which rose 34%, says Armstrong & Associates Inc.
Of the $89.4 billion U.S. companies spent for third party logistics servicesin 2004, $31.5 billion was for international transportation management, says
a report by Armstrong & Associates Inc., reflecting the significant growth
that has occurred in global product movements. Tight vessel, airfreight and
truck capacities allowed for significant price increases, the report
continued. Net revenues and income also trended upward.
Leaders in international transportation management included Expeditors
International, UTi, DHL Danzas and Kuehne + Nagel, all with over $1 billion
in U.S. turnover.
Domestic transportation management accounted for $25 billion, up 16.8% in
2004. Leaders in this segment included C.H. Robinson, Landstar and Schneider
Logistics.
Dedicated contract carriage reached a new high, according to Armstrong, at
$8.7 billion. Tight trucking capacity helped the dedicated segment. Top
companies included Cardinal Logistics, NFI, Penske and Werner, which each
had increases of over 20%.
Value-added warehousing and distribution, the final segment covered by the
report, showed a 7% increase in 2004, reaching $21.2 billion.