A Quick Look at Logistics

·         U.S. logistics industry size: $900 billion - almost double the size of the high-tech industry, or more than 10 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce). Global logistics size: $3.43 trillion (Michigan State University - Drs. Donald Bowersox and Calantone).

·         U.S. contract logistics' industry size: $34.2 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 23 percent over the next three years. (Mercer Management Consulting).

·         Logistics industry will root out $50 billion in distribution costs between 1996 and 2000 (Cass Information Systems).

·         Inventory is expensive: U.S. companies spend $4 billion a year on inventory interest, $8 billion on taxes, obsolescence, depreciation and insurance, and $2 billion on warehousing (Cass Information Systems).

·         Total logistics activities make up 15-20 percent of finished product costs. (International Warehouse Logistics Association).

·         Nearly 75 percent of U.S. manufacturers and suppliers are either using or considering a contract logistics service, and that figure will go higher (survey by Ernst & Young LLP).

·         About 60 percent of 123 companies surveyed using a third-party logistics firm said logistics was a core competency, and almost 80 percent thought that logistics represented a key competitive advantage (Ernst & Young LLP).

·         Satisfaction levels remain high: 86 percent of survey respondents who had outsourced some part of their logistics operations said the experience had been successful (Ernst & Young LLP).