The freight forwarding market plays a pivotal role in facilitating global trade by coordinating transportation of raw materials and finished goods across borders via multiple modes of transport such as ships, trucks, trains and aircraft. Freight forwarders offer end-to-end logistics solutions ranging from customs clearance, warehousing to tracking shipments. The market growth can be attributed to rising international trade coupled with advancing technologies to streamline operations. Globalization and changing consumer preferences have augmented import-export activities necessitating freight forwarding services.
The Global Freight Forwarding Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 286.5 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 10% over the forecast period 2024 to 2030.
Geopolitical tensions and pandemic-induced disruptions have highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience and visibility, driving adoption of freight forwarding management software. Moreover, growing e-commerce is propelling demand for worldwide parcel delivery, benefiting freight forwarders.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the Freight Forwarding Market are Abbott Laboratories, Amgen Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Inc., Roche, and Sanofi €“ Aventis. These industry leaders are expanding their global footprint through acquisitions and partnerships to leverage technological capabilities for service differentiation. For example, Deutsche Post DHL Group acquired US-based freight forwarding company Panalpina to become the world’s leading logistics provider.
The surge in cross-border e-commerce trade has tremendously increased the volume of low-weight and time-sensitive shipments, especially in the post-COVID era. This has augmented demand for value-added services including smaller package consolidation, customized tracking features and delivery guarantees.
Major Freight Forwarders are investing heavily in digital transformation to provide enhanced visibility and real-time cargo monitoring. This allows global expansion into new markets by catering to rising customer expectation of anytime, anywhere information access. For instance, Kuehne + Nagel launched a digital platform called KN Login to offer end-to-end shipment tracking to its global clientele.
Market key trends
Sustainable and greener supply chain practices are gaining widespread traction in the industry. This has been further accelerated by corporate commitments to reduce carbon footprint and customer demand for eco-friendly delivery. Major players are optimizing multimodal transportation routes, utilizing electric vehicles and investing in clean fuels like bio-LNG to lower environmental impact.
Porter’s Analysis
Threat of new entrants: The freight forwarding market requires significant assets/capital investments to operate efficiently, creating substantial barriers to entry.
Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers in the market have moderate bargaining power due to the availability of substitutes and competitors offering competitive pricing and services.
Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have moderate bargaining power due to the presence of several logistics providers and transportation companies.
Threat of new substitutes: Moderate threat from substitutes like in-house logistics as some large corporations are developing their logistics networks.
Competitive rivalry: Intense competition amongst existing players to capture market share.
Geographical Regions
Asia Pacific accounts for the largest share of the freight forwarding market currently, owing to robust trade activities in countries like China.
The freight forwarding market in Asia pacific is also expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period due to growing exports from emerging economies like India and ASEAN nations.
About Author - Ravina Pandya
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