Market Trends of United States Contract Logistics Industry
Growth of Optimized Warehousing Network
In the United States, the warehouse network is growing quickly. This is mostly because retail sales are going up and more people are buying things online.Also, the demand for same-day delivery is growing, so companies are getting rid of geographical barriers by setting up warehouses and distribution centers in smart ways to cut down on the time and cost of the distribution process.Companies are putting a lot of effort into using new technology in these warehouses and making new tools to speed up the flow of products.
Also, to meet the growing demand for warehouse space, major logistics companies like DHL, Ceva Logistics, FedEx, etc. are investing in technology in the network of supply. This includes updated automated material handling machines, vision systems, robots that help move goods, and temperature-controlled frozen storage space.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the growing inventories were expected to create a need for more than 500 million square feet of warehouse space in the country. Southern California also became a hub for the warehousing industry. The Inland Empire warehouse, which is in this area, is one of the busiest warehouses in the country and has one of the lowest vacancy rates on record. So, the growth of the contract logistics market is helped by the fact that the country has a strong network of warehouses. In addition, since 2010, the number of warehousing and storage businesses grew at an increasing rate every year. Also in 2021, there were more than 20,000 storage and warehousing businesses, which was a 4% increase from the year before.
Increasing E-commerce Sales are Driving the Market Growth
Consumer shifts toward new and hybrid shopping patterns were the primary drivers of 2022's significant growth in e-commerce sales.In addition, big retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. benefited from this consumer buying pattern. Meanwhile, e-commerce is driving rapid transformation in the retail sector. According to the United States Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, in Q3 2022, the share of e-commerce in total retail sales registered at 14.8%, which is up by 3% when compared to Q2 2022.
Moreover, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce will report on retail e-commerce sales in the country in the third quarter of 2022. In Q3 2022, the total e-commerce sales in the country amounted to USD 265.9 billion, representing a growth rate of 3% from the second quarter of 2022. Also, retail sales for the third quarter were worth USD 1,792 billion, which is 0.7% more than the previous quarter of the same year.
Furthermore, in Q3 2022, the fastest-growing category of e-commerce sales was clothing and general merchandise, including clothing and clothing accessories, followed by furniture, building materials, and electronics. In addition, the e-commerce sales generated by clothing and general merchandise were more than USD 42.4 billion, which was up by more than 39% when compared to Q3 2021. Thus, the growing e-commerce and retail sales create a huge opportunity for contract logistics services across the country.
