Brooks A Bentz

CEO Perspectives on the Current Status and Future Prospects of the Third- Party Logistics Industry in the United States: The year 2003 Survey.

This article, based upon a survey conducted in 2003, examines the views of the CEOs of 20 of the largest U.S. based third-party logistics providers concerning such matters as the industry’s dynamics, opportunities, and problems. In addition, it covers their opinions related to a number of important developments such as 3PL provider focus on specific industry verticals, the increasing customer selectivity of providers, the impact of the recent recession on the 3PL industry, and the movement of 3PL providers into China. CEOs estimates of future company and industry revenue growth rates are also provided. Finally, the implications of this data to both users and providers of 3PL services are also explored.