U.S. 3PL net revenues grew 5.1% to $138.2 billion in 2025, a meaningful acceleration from 2024’s 1.8% increase, according to Armstrong & Associates’ Reshaping: Third-Party Logistics in a Decade of Structural Change study.
Gross revenues grew 5% to $323.4 billion, up sharply from 2.8% growth in 2024, confirming that the freight recession that began in late 2022 is coming to an end.
The data projects continued growth across all four segments through 2026 and 2027.
Key takeaways:
· International transportation management (ITM) was 2025’s fastest-growing 3PL segment, with net revenue growth of 11% to $30.4 billion, driving a 35.4% gross profit margin.
· The U.S. 3PL market reached $323.4 billion in gross revenue (turnover) and $138.2 billion in net revenue in 2025, up 5% and 5.1% YoY, respectively;
· The freight recession is ending through capacity reduction rather than demand rebound, with operating-authority revocations exceeding new entries throughout 2024 and 2025;
· The domestic transportation management (DTM) segment is undergoing a structural rotation toward a new compliance technology stack — carrier compliance and onboarding, predictive performance/fraud screening, visibility/exception management with compliance signals, and TMS systems integrating compliance data — driven by high-profile cargo theft and double-brokering cases.
· Big box (500,000-plus-square-foot) facilities are competing with data center tenants for the same industrial land.
· 3PL M&A activity remained meaningful through March 31, with multiple transactions over $100 million reshaping the Top 50 global 3PLs ranking.
