2025 - 3PL Industry Statistics

Methodology:

The following 3PL statistics are from a study conducted by Inbound Logistics with respondents with the following geographic coverage: 

• North America: 41%
• Global: 35%
• U.S. Only: 24%

Top 3 3PL Challenges in 2025

• 72% of 3PL respondents said that rising operational costs are one of their top challenges.
• Technology investment is the second highest challenge of 3PL respondents, as 56% confirmed. 
• In third place, 46% of 3PL respondents agreed that finding, retaining customers is a challenge. 

AI Usage in 3PLs in 2025

Inbound Logistics asked 3PL respondents since 2020, what the most impactful technology in the field is, and AI has become increasingly popular. In 2020, only 62% said that AI was impactful, whereas in 2025, 94% of 3PL respondents agreed that AI (artificial intelligence) is the most impactful technology. 

Top 3 Reasons for Failed 3PL Partnerships in 2025

• 34% of shipper respondents listed poor customer service as the top reason for a failed 3PL partnership.
• In second place, 28% of shipper respondents confirmed that failed expectations ended the 3PL partnership. 
  
• Cost came in third place, with 22% of shipper respondents listing it as a reason for a failed 3PL partnership. 
  

All of the above statistics have been extracted from this article by Inbound Logistics.

Methodology: 

The following 3PL statistics are from a study conducted by Extensiv across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, with the following coverage:

• 88% were traditional 3PL warehouses
• 12% were hybrid public and private warehouses (who also sell and ship their own goods).

Order Volume Trends for 3PLs

• 70% of 3PLs grew order volume in 2024, which is down from 76% in 2023 and 90% in 2022. Economic fluctuations, customer order volumes declining and customer loss are major contributors to the volume decline.
• Only 31% of 3PLs operated a single warehouse in 2024, down from mid-30s in previous years. The number of 3PLs operating multiple warehouses has risen to 51% operating 2–5 warehouses.
• 86% of 3PLs use a Warehouse Management System (WMS). The top reasons for WMS adoption included; real-time inventory tracking and management (87%), more operational efficiency (75%) and greater order accuracy (71%).
  

Billing and Invoicing Trends for 3PLs

• The largest billing challenges faced by 3PLs are upcaptured charges (56%), complex per client set up (47%), and lack of automation (40%).
• 26% of 3PLs are using their warehouse management system (WMS) to handle their billing processes, with 20% still processing them manually.
• 3PLs using their WMS for invoicing were 2.2x more likely to see medium or better profitability growth, highlighting that billing automation is linked to profitability.
• 3PLs spending <16 hours/month on billing were 2.8x more likely to see high profitability, showing that efficient billing correlates with financial success.
  

Profitability Concerns for 3PLs

• Only 69% of 3PLs reported profitability growth in 2024, down from 73% in 2023 and 81% in 2022. The industry is facing economic headwinds, with profitability and order volume growth both declining.
• Only 14% of 3PLs received payments in <15 days in 2024, down from 22% in 2023. Payment delays are increasing, stressing cash flow.
• 49% of 3PLs cited managing costs as their biggest challenge. Finding new customers (38%), operational efficiency (37%) and growing revenue (29%) were also top challenges in 2024.
  

All of the above statistics have been extracted from this report from Extensiv.

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