The Latin American contract logistics market is expected to exhibit a growth rate of more than 3.5% during the forecast period. During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to lockdowns, there has been an increase in demand for online shopping in several areas in Latin America, which requires the manufacturing, food and beverage, and logistics sectors to streamline their supply chains, providing the consumers with an increase in speed and accuracy of order processing and delivery.
The rapid growth of international trade of perishable goods, technological progress in transportation and storage facilities, and infrastructure development support by the government are the major driving factors for the growth of the Latin American contract logistics market. The increased implementation of tech-driven logistics services and IoT-enabled connected devices are accelerating the growth of the market. However, lack of infrastructure and high cost of logistics services hinder the market growth.
Countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina have been facing political and economic crises leading to a downturn in the growth of the automotive sector. However, Mexico, despite sluggish economic growth, has been laying a solid ground for growth in the automotive sector. The country's competitive manufacturing costs, compact supply chain, and transport links to the United States have made it a huge recipient of automotive investment, especially as an export hub to the United States and Canada.
The region has Mexico and Brazil with the most developed automotive sectors - Mexico produced about 4 million motor vehicles in 2019, while the production in Brazil added up to almost 3 million units that year. In fact, these two Latin American countries ranked amongst the largest motor vehicle producers worldwide, with Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota among the leading players in Latin America.
Such growth in the sector is strongly demanding the involvement of the contract logistics players to support the transportation and storage of the vehicles and parts to the domestics as well as international markets.
The growing e-commerce market in the Latin American region is leading the logistics players in the region to focus on warehousing, inventory management, and modes to provide faster deliveries incurring the least cost. The sector demands the logistics players to position their warehousing closer to city centers to facilitate same-day delivery services.
Implementation of big data management in the sector lowers costs, speeds fulfillment, and improves accuracy. E-commerce in Latin America also creates opportunities for legacy logistics providers.
In Latin America, logistics companies face huge traffic issues and spend a great deal of time finding and identifying un-named streets. Companies like Rappi, Chazki, and CargoX are developing in the market with their network of drivers and vehicles to deliver items leading towards a market to drop their pricing.
The Latin American contact logistics market is fairly fragmented, with various domestic and international players, including AP Moller, DB Schenker, and DHL Supply Chain. Even though these major players have a strong footprint across the region and account for significant market share, the market is still fragmented to some extent, with many players providing contract logistics services at different levels. The companies in the sector are following the trend of acquisitions in order to grow and be competitive in the market.
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