Global logistics market growth rates fell in 2018 due to rising economic challenges and the strong performance of the industry in 2017, according to Ti’s global market size & growth forecast data.
The global freight forwarding market grew 3.9% in 2018, a marked decline from an expansion of 8.0% in 2017.
The slowdown in the freight forwarding market is not altogether surprising given the exceptional performance in 2017 when demand for air transport services surged as shippers rushed to re-stock inventories and move goods to market, said Ti, a leading source of market research and intelligence for the global supply chain and logistics industry.
“As the restocking cycle drew to a close in early 2018, market expansion reduced substantially. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have had far-reaching implications for regional and global supply chains, which has affected forwarding growth across different countries,” it said.
Meanwhile, while global contract logistics growth slowed in 2018, the change was very slight—the market grew by 4.9% in real terms, down from 5.0% in 2017. The U.S. market performed relatively well, whilst China’s market is continuing to show remarkable vigor.
Manufacturing has previously been (and continues to be) a strong base for China’s contract logistics growth, but a growing consumer market led by internal investment, growing wages and a boom in e-commerce has created a vibrant opportunity in Chinese retail contract logistics, said Ti.
As for the global express & small parcels market, it had the quickest rate of expansion among the logistics markets last year with 8.5%. However the growth rate is a slowdown on the 9.7% seen in 2017.
“e-commerce is continuing to drive rapid growth in China’s express and parcels market, which is expanding much faster than the global growth rate,” said the report. “Although there are significant bright spots in areas such as healthcare and cross-border e-commerce, weaker macroeconomic conditions have played their part in slowing market growth, affecting major players, including FedEx.”
“Ti’s new figures show robust growth across major global logistics markets. Growth rates are not flattering when compared against the previous year, where global GDP growth was the fastest it had been since 2011. Nonetheless, there have been significant opportunities for LSPs to grow top-line figures through the course of the year,” said Andy Ralls, analyst at Ti.
Photo: Rüdiger Wölk
