As we approach the final stretch of 2024, the rail industry is at a critical juncture, facing a convergence of long-standing challenges and emerging opportunities.
In recent years, the rail industry's story has been one of persistent headwinds: financial pressures, labor shortages, and heightened safety concerns following the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, to name just a few. The shadows cast by these difficulties continue to loom large. These challenges, however, are symptoms of deeper, structural issues that have plagued the industry for over a decade.
Since the late 2000s, aggregate rail volumes have remained stubbornly stagnant. The initial gains from Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), once hailed as a revolutionary approach to operational efficiency, have largely been exhausted. The industry now grapples with this model's limitations, searching for new avenues to drive growth and profitability.
This pivotal moment demands a nuanced understanding of the sector's current state and potential trajectories.
The weight of history
In many ways, the root of today’s rail industry dilemma lies with coal. Coal was first used to generate electricity in the United States in 1882, and coal production, power plants, and railroads all grew together. In the 1970s, the development of the vast coal deposits of the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming and their proximity to major rail lines fueled a massive nationwide railroad infrastructure investment cycle that lasted a decade. It was truly a bonanza.
In the early 2000s, however, advancements in hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling led to a surge in natural gas production. As its prices fell, natural gas grew to be a titan competitor of coal for electricity generation. The impact of inexpensive and abundant natural gas has led to huge declines in coal production and coal’s share of electricity generation. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation averaged 52% in the 1990s and fell to 16% in 2023. The natural gas share rose from 16% to 43% during that same time.
The impact on coal production, transportation, and consumption has been massive. In 2023, U.S. coal production was 577.5 million tons, representing a 51% decrease from 2008 volumes of 1.13 billion tons. During that same time, originated carloads of coal by U.S. Class I railroads peaked at 7.71 million in 2008 and plummeted to 3.43 million in 2023.
The short-term outlook is just as gloomy. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), coal carloads were down 17.1% from last year, the lowest January to June volume since the AAR began keeping records in 1988. Natural gas prices remain extremely low, and the cost of generating electricity from wind and solar farms has plunged. Coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation is expected to continue to decline in 2025. As a result, a significant amount of historical rail traffic will not return.
All factors considered, in the first half of 2024, U.S. railroads originated 4.17 million carloads, excluding coal and intermodal. That volume hasn’t changed much over the last 10 years, meaning that U.S. Class I’s have been unable to replace the diminished coal traffic with other carload traffic.
Filling the carload breach
Currently there are three AAR commodity segments that ship in enough volume to potentially offset the contracted coal volumes—grain, chemicals, and petroleum products. Of the three, do any provide a platform for volume growth?
Grain does offer some of the unit train economics of coal and represents about 12% of the first half of 2024 volume for U.S. railroads. However, for railroads, the grain market is divided into two very distinct sectors—domestic and international. Domestic grain demand has been relatively flat for the last 10 years, offering little opportunity for significant volume growth. The international market is quite different. While the United States is the world's largest grain exporter, volumes can swing wildly from year to year. The unpredictability of grain exports makes the entire segment risky as a growth strategy for Class I railroads.
The chemicals industry consists of thousands of producers throughout the United States, representing a material growth opportunity for Class I’s. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) reported that in 2022, 1.02 billion tons of chemicals were shipped in the United States at a cost of $79.0 billion. As a commodity segment, chemicals are the largest carload revenue source for U.S. Class I railroads. According to the ACC, rail represents 18% of total chemical tonnage while trucks led with 58%.
Like the chemicals segment, petroleum products represent a wide range of categories, including crude oil and refined products, including liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), fuel oil, lubricating oils, aviation fuels, and other fuels. Together, they represent approximately 5% of U.S. rail-originating carload shipments.
A noteworthy structural opportunity that Class I’s can continue to nurture for growth in both the chemicals and petroleum products is south of the border. Today, Mexico’s ability to both produce and refine enough energy to meet its domestic needs is quite constrained, and that is reflected in the growth in imports from the United States. This export market represents a unique opportunity for Class I railroads.
Three things have driven this structural event. First, the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico creates a low-cost feedstock source for the world’s most sophisticated refining complex located in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Second, Mexico is a nearby market for both the feedstock and refining capacity. Finally, Mexico is facing a structural challenge in that its refining capacity has been operating below 50% for the last several years, and PEMEX, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company, is carrying massive debt. Railroads could serve as a vital link transporting feedstock.
The intermodal conundrum
Intermodal transport has long been considered the industry's golden ticket to growth, but in 2024, it presents a more complex picture. The segment saw a downturn in 2023, hitting its lowest volumes in three years. In June of this year, Class I railroads did report about an 8.7% volume growth in intermodal for the month over 2023. But even those numbers don't get them back to pre-pandemic levels.
However, we remain cautiously optimistic about intermodal’s long-term outlook. One way that Class I railroads could capture market share would be to target a significant volume of single-line traffic that travels between 700 and 1,500 miles and traverses only one railroad. That is a fairly sizable market for trucks right now, and if successfully converted to rail, it will add a significant amount of additional intermodal volume to the railroad’s portfolios.
To successfully compete, railroads will need to offer a compelling value proposition that can respond effectively to trucking’s current capacity surplus and low post-pandemic rates. This requires a delicate balance of pricing strategy, service reliability, and operational efficiency.
Path forward
Railroads have long faced criticism for their perceived inflexibility and reluctance to adapt to shipper needs. However, today's competitive landscape and changing customer expectations are driving rapid transformation in the industry. Class I railroads are actively working to enhance the customer experience, but they face significant challenges. To compete effectively with trucking, they must overcome deeply entrenched negative perceptions about rail shipping. This requires demonstrating unwavering commitment to their shippers and the markets they serve, as well as presenting comprehensive, forward-thinking strategies that showcase their long-term dedication to the industry.
For their part, shippers should reexamine the supply chain solutions they implemented to solve pandemic and post-pandemic challenges. They should take advantage of the current transportation market volatility to scrutinize the rates they currently pay and understand the trade-offs they can make in the marketplace to decrease overall transportation costs. Now's the time to start evaluating modal shifts. Railroads may be hungrier for traffic they didn't want to haul during the pandemic and post-pandemic years, and shippers can take advantage of a contracting truck market to inform their rail negotiations. In some cases, shippers may find that railroads have more appetite to commit to long-term contracts with fixed indices.
As we look to the future, railroads may never recover the bygone coal volumes, and their earnings profiles may be forever changed. Still, the industry's trajectory will be determined by its ability to address these interconnected challenges and opportunities brought about by the turbulence of being an integral part of the global economy. Success will require a multifaceted approach, and what worked for Class I’s in the past likely won’t help them be successful soon. All that said, it is a given that railroads will remain an integral part of North America’s industrial economy for a very long time.
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ share of large real estate leases across the U.S. rose significantly through the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, as more retailers and wholesalers have been outsourcing their warehouse and distribution operations to 3PLs, according to a report from real estate firm CBRE.
Specifically, 3PLs’ share of bulk industrial leasing activity—covering leases of 100,000 square feet or more—rose to 34.1% through Q3 of this year from 30.6% through Q3 last year. By raw numbers, 3PLs have accounted for 498 bulk leases so far this year, up by 9% from the 457 at this time last year.
By category, 3PLs’ share of 34.1% ranked above other occupier types such as: general retail and wholesale (26.6), food and beverage (9.0), automobiles, tires, and parts (7.9), manufacturing (6.2), building materials and construction (5.6), e-commerce only (5.6), medical (2.7), and undisclosed (2.3).
On a quarterly basis, bulk leasing by 3PLs has steadily increased this year, reversing the steadily decreasing trend of 2023. CBRE pointed to three main reasons for that resurgence:
Import Flexibility. Labor disruptions, extreme weather patterns, and geopolitical uncertainty have led many companies to diversify their import locations. Using 3PLs allows for more inventory flexibility, a key component to retailer success in times of uncertainty.
Capital Allocation/Preservation. Warehousing and distribution of goods is expensive, draining capital resources for transportation costs, rent, or labor. But outsourcing to 3PLs provides companies with more flexibility to increase or decrease their inventories without any risk of signing their own lease commitments. And using a 3PL also allows companies to switch supply chain costs from capital to operational expenses.
Focus on Core Competency. Outsourcing their logistics operations to 3PLs allows companies to focus on core business competencies that drive revenue, such as product development, sales, and customer service.
Looking into the future, these same trends will continue to drive 3PL warehouse demand, CBRE said. Economic, geopolitical and supply chain uncertainty will remain prevalent in the coming quarters but will not diminish the need to effectively manage inventory levels.
That result came from the company’s “GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index,” an indicator tracking demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories, and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses. The October index number was -0.39, which was up only slightly from its level of -0.43 in September.
Researchers found a steep rise in slack across North American supply chains due to declining factory activity in the U.S. In fact, purchasing managers at U.S. manufacturers made their strongest cutbacks to buying volumes in nearly a year and a half, indicating that factories in the world's largest economy are preparing for lower production volumes, GEP said.
Elsewhere, suppliers feeding Asia also reported spare capacity in October, albeit to a lesser degree than seen in Western markets. Europe's industrial plight remained a key feature of the data in October, as vendor capacity was significantly underutilized, reflecting a continuation of subdued demand in key manufacturing hubs across the continent.
"We're in a buyers' market. October is the fourth straight month that suppliers worldwide reported spare capacity, with notable contractions in factory demand across North America and Europe, underscoring the challenging outlook for Western manufacturers," Todd Bremer, vice president, GEP, said in a release. "President-elect Trump inherits U.S. manufacturers with plenty of spare capacity while in contrast, China's modest rebound and strong expansion in India demonstrate greater resilience in Asia."
2024 was expected to be a bounce-back year for the logistics industry. We had the pandemic in the rearview mirror, and the economy was proving to be more resilient than expected, defying those prognosticators who believed a recession was imminent.
While most of the economy managed to stabilize in 2024, the logistics industry continued to see disruption and changes in international trade. World events conspired to drive much of the narrative surrounding the flow of goods worldwide. Additionally, a diminished reliance on China as a source for goods reduced some of the international trade flow from that manufacturing hub. Some of this trade diverted to other Asian nations, while nearshoring efforts brought some production back to North America, particularly Mexico.
Meanwhile trucking in the United States continued its 2-year recession, highlighted by weaker demand and excess capacity. Both contributed to a slow year, especially for truckload carriers that comprise about 90% of over-the-road shipments.
Labor issues were also front and center in 2024, as ports and rail companies dealt with threats of strikes, which resulted in new contracts and increased costs. Labor—and often a lack of it—continues to be an ongoing concern in the logistics industry.
In this annual issue, we bring a year-end perspective to these topics and more. Our issue is designed to complement CSCMP’s 35th Annual State of Logistics Report, which was released in June, and includes updates that were presented at the CSCMP EDGE conference held in October. In addition to this overview of the market, we have engaged top industry experts to dig into the status of key logistics sectors.
Hopefully as we move into 2025, logistics markets will build on an improving economy and strong consumer demand, while stabilizing those parts of the industry that could use some adrenaline, such as trucking. By this time next year, we hope to see a full recovery as the market fulfills its promise to deliver the needs of our very connected world.
If you feel like your supply chain has been continuously buffeted by external forces over the last few years and that you are constantly having to adjust your operations to tact through the winds of change, you are not alone.
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP’s) “35th Annual State of Logistics Report” and the subsequent follow-up presentation at the CSCMP EDGE Annual Conference depict a logistics industry facing intense external stresses, such as geopolitical conflict, severe weather events and climate change, labor action, and inflation. The past 18 months have seen all these factors have an impact on demand for transportation and logistics services as well as capacity, freight rates, and overall costs.
The “State of Logistics Report” is an annual study compiled and authored by a team of analysts from Kearney for CSCMP and supported and sponsored by logistics service provider Penske Logistics. The purpose of the report is to provide a snapshot of the logistics industry by assessing macroeconomic conditions and providing a detailed look at its major subsectors.
One of the key metrics the report has tracked every year since its inception in 1988 is U.S. business logistics costs (USBLC). This year’s report found that U.S. business logistics costs went down in 2023 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. As Figure 1 shows, U.S. business logistics costs for 2023 dropped 11.2% year-over-year to $2.4 trillion, or 8.7% of last year’s $27.4 trillion gross domestic product (GDP).
“This was not unexpected,” said Josh Brogan, Kearney partner and lead author of the report, during a press conference in June announcing the results. “After the initial impacts of COVID were felt in 2020, we saw a steady rise of logistics costs, even in terms of total GDP. What we are seeing now is a reversion more toward the mean.”
This breakdown of U.S. Business Logistics Costs for 2023 shows an across-the-board decline in all transportation costs.
CSCMP's 35th Annual "State of Logistics Report"
As a result, Figure 1 shows an across-the-board decline in transportation costs (except for some administrative costs) for the 2023 calendar year. “What such a chart cannot fully capture about this period is the intensification of certain external stressors on the global economy and its logistical networks,” says the report. “These include a growing geopolitical instability that further complicates investment and policy decisions for business leaders and government officials.”Both the report and the follow-up session at the CSCMP EDGE Conference in October provided a vivid picture of the global instability that logistics providers and shippers are facing. These conditions include (but are not limited to):
An intensification of military conflict, with the Red Sea Crisis being particularly top of mind for companies shipping from Asia to Europe or to the eastern part of North America;
Continued fragmentation of global trade, as evidenced by the deepening rift between China and the United States;
Climate change and severe weather events, such as the drought in Panama, which lowered water levels in the Panama Canal, and the two massive hurricanes that ripped through the Southeastern United States;
Labor disputes, such as the three-day port strike which stopped operations at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States in October; and
Persistent inflation (despite some recent improvement in the United States) and muted global economic growth.
At the same time that the logistics market was dealing with these external factors, it was also facing sluggish freight demand and an ongoing excess of capacity. These twin dynamics have contributed to continued low cargo rates through 2024.
“For 2024, I foresee a generally flat USBLC as a percentage of GDP,” says Brogan. “We did see increases in air and ocean costs in preparation for the East Coast port strike but overall, road freight is down. I think this will balance out with the relatively low level of inflation seen in the general economy.”
Breakdown by mode
The following is a quick review of how the forces outlined above are affecting the primary logistics sectors, as described by the “State of Logistics Report” and the updated presentation given at the CSCMP EDGE Conference in early October.
Trucking: A downturn in consumer demand plus a lingering surplus in capacity led to a plunge in rates in 2023 compared to 2022. Throughout 2024, however, rates have remained relatively stable. Speaking in October, report author Brogan said he expects that trend to continue for the near future. On the capacity side, despite thousands of companies having departed the market since 2022, the number of departures has not been as high as would normally be expected during a down market. Brogan accounts this to investors expecting to see some turbulence in the marketplace and being willing to stick around longer than has traditionally been the case.
Parcel and last mile: Parcel volumes in 2023 were down by 0.5% compared to 2022. Simultaneously, there has been a move away from UPS and FedEx, both of which saw their year-over-year parcel volumes decline in 2023. Nontraditional competitors have taken larger portions of the parcel volume, including Amazon, which passed UPS for the largest parcel carrier in the U.S. in 2023. Additionally, there has been an increasing use of regional providers, as large shippers continue to shift away from “single sourcing” their carrier base. Parcel volumes have increased in 2024, mostly driven by e-commerce. Brogan expects regional providers to claim “the lion’s share” of this volume.
Rail: In 2023, Class I railroads experienced a challenging financial environment, characterized by a 4% increase in operating ratios, a 2% decline in revenue, and an 11% decrease in operating income compared to 2022. These financial troubles were primarily driven by intermodal volume decreases, service challenges, inflationary pressures, escalated fuel and labor expenses, and a surge in employee headcount. The outlook for 2024 is slightly more promising, according to Kearney. Intermodal, often regarded a primary growth driver, has seen increased volumes and market share. Class I railroads are also seeing some positive operational developments with train speeds increasing by 2.3% and terminal dwell times decreasing by 1.8%. Finally, opportunities are opening up for an expansion in cross-border rail traffic within North America.
Air: The air freight market saw a steep decline in costs year over year from 2022 to 2023. Rates in 2024 began flat before starting to pick up in the summer, and report authors expect to see demand increase by 4.5%. Part of the demand pickup is due to disruptions in key sea lanes, such as the Suez Canal, causing shippers to convert from ocean to air. Meanwhile, the capacity picture has been mixed with some lanes having a lot of capacity while others have none. Much of this dynamic is due to Chinese e-commerce retailers Temu and Shein, which depend heavily on airfreight to execute their business models. In order to serve this booming business, some airfreight providers have pulled capacity out of more niche markets, such as flights into Latin America or Africa, and are now using those planes to serve the Asia-to-U.S. or Asia-to-Europe lanes.
Water/ports: The recent “State of Logistics Report” indicated that waterborne freight experienced a very steep decline of 64.2% in expenditures in 2023 relative to 2022. This was mostly due to muted demand, overcapacity, and a normalization from the inflated ocean rates seen during the pandemic years. After the trough of 2023, the market has been seeing significant “micro-spikes” in rates on some lanes due to constraints caused by geopolitical issues, such as the Red Sea conflict and the U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports strike. Kearney foresees a continuation of these rate hikes for the next few months. However, over the long term, the market will have to deal with the overcapacity that was built up during the height of the pandemic, which will cause rates to soften. Ultimately, however, Brogan said he did not expect to see a return to 2023 rate levels.
Third-party logistics (3PLs): The third-party logistics (3PL) sector is facing some significant challenges in 2024. Low freight rates and excess capacity could force some 3PLs to consolidate, especially if they are smaller players and rely on venture capital funding. Meanwhile, Kearney reports that there is some redefining of traditional roles going on within the 3PL-shipper ecosystem. For example, some historically asset-light 3PLs are expanding into asset-heavy services, and some shippers are trying to monetize their own logistics capabilities by marketing them externally.
Freight forwarding: Major forwarders had a shaky final quarter of 2023, seeing a decline in financial performance. To regain form, Kearney asserts that forwarders will need to increase their focus on technology, value-added services, and tiered servicing. Overall, the forwarding sector is expected to grow at slow rate in coming years, with a projected annual growth rate of 5.5% for the period of 2023–2032.
Warehousing: According to Brogan an interesting phenomenon is occurring in the warehousing market with the average asking rents continuing to rise even though vacancy rates have also increased. There are several reasons for this mixed message, according to the “State of Logistics” report, including: longer contract durations, enhanced facility features, and steady demand growth. A record-breaking level of new construction and new facilities, however, have helped to stabilize rent prices and increase vacancy rates, according to the report authors.
Path forward
What is the way forward given these uncertain times? For many shippers and carriers, a fresh look at their networks and overall supply chains may be in order. Many companies are currently reassessing their distribution networks and operations to make sure that they are optimized. In these cost-sensitive times, that may involve consolidating facilities, eliminating redundant capacity, or rebalancing inventory.
It’s important to realize, however, that network optimization should not just focus on eliminating unnecessary costs. It should also ensure that the network has the right amount of capacity to response with agility and flexibility to any future disruptions. Companies must look at their supply chain networks as a whole and think about how they can be utilized to unlock strategic advantage.
Supply chains are subjected to constant change, and the most recent five years have forced supply chain professionals to navigate unprecedented issues, adapt to shifting demand patterns, and deal with unanticipated volatility and, to some extent, “black swan” events.
As a result, change management has become an essential capability to help improve supply chain operations, support collaboration both internally and with external partners, deploy new technology, and adapt to sometimes continually changing market pressures. Recognizing this importance, the 2025 Annual Third-Party Logistics Study (www.3PLStudy.com) took an in-depth look at change management. The majority of respondents to the study’s global survey—61% of shippers and 73% of 3PLs—reported that the need for supply chain change management is either critical or significant.
Shippers says that the biggest drivers of change in their supply chain organizations are customer demands, economic factors, and technological advancements.
2025 Annual Third-Party Logistics Study
Figure 1 above focuses on several factors that were identified as likely drivers of change in supply chains. Among shippers, the biggest drivers of change in their supply chain organizations included customer demands, economic factors, and technological advancements. Other factors included supplier considerations, societal shifts, and labor restraints. 3PL responses were similar to shippers’ except 3PLs ranked labor restraints as the fourth most important driver of change.
The study also asked respondents to identify areas in need of change. The most-identified area was supply chain visibility, cited by 69% of shippers and 68% of 3PLs. Technology, planning, and relationships also ranked highly.
Respondents also reported varying degrees of receptivity to change. About one-fourth of shippers and 3PLs said they are extremely receptive to change, while 45% of shippers and 53% of 3PLs said their organizations are moderately receptive to change.
AI underscores need for change management
Most supply chain professionals agree that the need to embrace change is likely to continue to increase. Technology is advancing rapidly, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are creating new opportunities to increase efficiency, improve decision-making, and optimize operations within the supply chain.
Among the many pertinent messages that received attention at the 2024 CSCMP EDGE Supply Chain Conference and Exhibition was that nearly every aspect of the supply chain will be involved with or impacted by AI. Example areas where significant improvements and results may be achieved include demand forecasting, inventory management, warehouse operations, predictive equipment maintenance, supplier relationship management, and more. As a result, AI may bring change to nearly every aspect of supply chain management and every level of employee.
This year’s 3PL study also focused on the growing role of AI in supply chains. Shippers and 3PLs are aligned on the top use cases for AI, with supply and demand forecasting and transportation and route optimization ranking at the top. Order management also ranked highly for both groups, while 3PLs see a slightly higher use case for warehouse automation than do shippers.
Both groups are also aligned on their view of AI as a tool that can automate data analysis, identify patterns, solve problems, and automate repetitive and mundane tasks. The hope is that AI will help companies better use their data to make improved and informed decisions. AI can process data and identify patterns and repetitive operational issues faster than a human can, which can improve forecasting, uncover inefficiencies, optimize processes, make predictions, and increase resiliency. Machine learning, a subset of AI, is expected to be especially useful for solving complex logistics problems by refining its predictions and recommendations over time to create more efficient operations.
Shippers and 3PLs agree that the greatest return on investment from AI will come from service-level improvements—cited by 40% of shippers and 37% of 3PLs—as well as data accuracy, cited by 34% of shippers and 39% of 3PLs.
Given the potential benefits of AI, shippers will increasingly be looking for 3PLs that offer AI solutions that they can use to achieve reliable results and gain a competitive advantage. Nearly three-quarters of shippers said 3PLs’ use of AI would influence their choice of a 3PL partner. On a more granular basis, 13% of shippers reported that they are very likely to switch 3PL providers based on their AI capabilities, 29% said they are likely, and 32% said they are somewhat likely to switch 3PL providers based on their AI capabilities. As demand for AI-based solutions increases, 3PL offerings will evolve, further exacerbating the change that supply chain organizations are experiencing.
Realizing benefits from change management
While the ability to manage change is critical to survival, so too is the ability to determine when change may be needed. To determine whether they need to change, companies should start by assessing their current state and opportunities for improvement. Next, they need to identify the desired state and benefits of change. To help drive success, the change management strategy should create a vision, identify solutions, and develop a plan for change.
For successful change to occur, stakeholders must work together to operate as a systematic supply chain rather than working as individuals with departmental goals that may not align. It is also critical to gain support for the change initiative among those who may be involved. Educating stakeholders about the need for change, creating a clear vision of what the change will accomplish, and outlining the benefits can help build support.
Many companies have found that using a structured change management process can reduce resistance to change, improve communication, and increase the likelihood of success. In the study, 58% of shippers and 76% of 3PLs reported using a change management framework. The two most frequently cited frameworks used by both shippers and 3PLs were the McKinsey 7-S (which identifies seven factors that influence an organization’s ability to change) and the ADKAR change management model (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement). Use of an in-house proprietary system was cited by 36% of shippers and 29% of 3PLs.
The good news for those in supply chain is that key stakeholders are dedicated to minimizing disruptions, enhancing agility, and ensuring long-term success. In this year’s study, 89% of shippers reported that they are committed to the success of the broader, end-to-end (E2E) supply chain. It is clear that shippers sense a deep commitment to the broader concept of supply chain management and recognize the need to align themselves with multiple supply chain participants to create value for their end-user customers and consumers. What’s more, 64% of shippers reported that their 3PLs share this commitment to the E2E concept, and 69% indicated that some of their 3PLs are involved with their change management processes. Also encouraging is that 77% of shippers agree that their 3PLs are enthusiastic about joint efforts relating to change management.
In the complex and ever-evolving world of supply chains, change is inevitable. With effective change management practices in place, shippers and 3PLs can navigate these changes with greater confidence and turn them into opportunities for growth and improvement.