The logistics industry achieved positive growth for the first time in two years.

The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), the leading organization representing transportation intermediaries in domestic and international trade, has released its Q2 2024 Third-Party Logistics Market Report, marking the first time in eight quarters that the logistics industry has experienced positive growth.

The report shows that total shipments in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 5% from the first quarter of 2024 and increased by 3.5% year-on-year. Total revenue also increased by 5.6% from the previous quarter, and the invoice amount per shipment increased by 0.6%. Although gross profit margin decreased slightly – down 10 basis points from the previous quarter and down 160 basis points from the previous year – the overall growth in shipments and revenue indicates strong market demand and high operating efficiency.

“It’s gratifying to see that the industry is finally turning the corner after two years of decline,” said Anne Reinke, TIA President and CEO. “Every industry segment showed solid growth from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024. We view this as more than just a temporary uptick, but rather an indication that the turbulent COVID-era freight market cycle is coming to an end.”

Performance of major market segments

Truck loading

Truckload operations performed well in the second quarter of 2024 for companies of different sizes. Smaller companies saw an increase in total freight volumes, while both mid-sized and large brokerages saw increases in both per-truckload invoice amounts and per-truckload gross margins. Strong market performance coupled with effective cost management strategies suggests a healthier market in the second quarter of 2024 than in recent quarters. Notably, the gross margin percentage for truckload operations rose for the first time since the third quarter of 2022.

Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)

LTL performance was mixed in the second quarter of 2024. While total loads increased sequentially, invoice amounts per shipment and gross margin per shipment decreased slightly. Small brokers reported essentially flat statistics, while large brokers with revenues greater than $100 million saw increases in all metrics. Similar to the truckload segment, LTL invoice amounts per shipment decreased slightly in the second quarter of 2024, but gross margin percentage increased.

Multimodal transport

The intermodal industry also saw growth in the second quarter of 2024, with total shipments up 9.5% and invoice value per truckload up 1.1% compared to the first quarter. However, year-over-year, invoice value per truckload was down 22%, suggesting that while short-term growth is encouraging, the industry has not yet fully recovered to 2023 levels. Nonetheless, the intermodal industry continues a trend of rising gross margin percentages that began in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Mark Christos, Chairman of the TIA Board of Directors, commented on the industry outlook: “Market conditions have changed significantly over the past few years. I expect to see more companies exit the industry in the next year, but this also provides opportunities for those companies that can adapt quickly, maintain excellent customer service, and leverage data-driven insights.”