The global e-commerce logistics market will be worth over €500bn by 2024, but LSPs are unlikely to see many benefits of this growth


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  • e-commerce logistics market expanded by 16% in 2019
  • Current growth trends will push the market to €500bn by 2024
  • Despite even the largest LSPs being stretched to breaking point, logistics costs percentage remain effectively unchanged at 15% of sales for nearly a decade

Bath, UK, 25th February 2020 – New research from Transport Intelligence (Ti) shows an e-commerce logistics market rapidly expanding at 16% in 2019, but also one in which logistics costs are stubbornly high.

Analysis for Global e-commerce logistics 2020 examined logistics costs data from 20+ retailers across geographies and retail sectors. The data shows that logistics costs as a percentage of sales have essentially remained flat at 15% for much of the last decade. This is despite large investments in infrastructure, technology and automation from LSPs as they seek to boost efficiency and capture more value. Significant variations in logistics costs can be found, however, with retail sector and location key determinants of overall logistics costs.

Global e-commerce 2020 does show an e-commerce logistics market that continues to expand rapidly, however. The global market expanded by 16% in 2019 as online sales continued to grow in more mature e-commerce markets from the US to South Korea. Even more rapid market development was seen in countries where online retail is only now taking hold – annual growth rates in excess of 30% were recorded in several markets. Looking ahead, the market is expected to top €500bn by 2024.

“e-commerce presents quite a puzzle for logistics service providers. On the one hand, its growth is phenomenal and the potential for value creation is incredibly attractive. On the other, there’s a battle to keep costs down as retailers heap pressure onto their supply chain partners to limit costs while improving service levels at the same time. It would have been hoped that the huge investments in infrastructure, automation and other technology seen over the decade last would be reducing costs, but that’s not happened market-wide and costs, especially in fulfilment, have risen dramatically,” said Nick Bailey, Head of Research, at Ti.

About Global e-commerce Logistics 2020

Global e-commerce Logistics 2020 examines the technological pressures, ever-evolving customer purchasing habits and continued cross-border e-commerce growth are key concerns for LSPs serving the e-commerce market.

As well as extensive analysis of the rapidly growing e-commerce logistics market, the report reveals:

  • How Pure-play retailers are likely going to engage in online-to-offline as they seek to combine speed, convenience and physicality for its customers
  • Why the rapid e-commerce growth has given rise to many tech-enabled start-ups
  • That even the largest LSPs being stretched to breaking point, logistics costs percentage remain effectively unchanged

Source: Transport Intelligence, February 20, 2020

Author: Transport Intelligence

 

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