According to experts, logistics companies are experiencing a slowdown in e-commerce, resulting in a decrease in payrolls. In February, nearly 17,000 jobs were slashed by logistics operators due to a shift in consumer spending from goods to services and stalling e-commerce growth.

Trucking, warehousing, and parcel-delivery companies combined cut 16,900 jobs in February, following a drop of 2,200 jobs in January.

Although February is typically a slow month for logistics hiring, these latest figures reflect a broader cooling of demand. The pullback in hiring is due to the big retailers that have reduced e-commerce investments, affecting courier, messenger, and warehousing employment.

Aaron Terrazas, the chief economist at Glassdoor Inc., believes that the decline is due to a pullback by big e-commerce retailers, who are slowing demand and cutting back on warehousing and distribution capacity. Warehousing and storage companies cut 5,500 jobs last month, while courier and messenger companies cut 2,900 jobs.

Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix Inc., said that the boom in online ordering that took place during the pandemic is slowing, which is hitting the warehousing and parcel-carrier sectors particularly hard. The Cass Freight Index, which measures trucking and rail shipments moving in the US, dropped 3.2% from December to January.

Amid the slowdown in freight demand, logistics companies are cutting jobs as the supply-chain disruptions that led to tens of thousands of new jobs recede.

While many logistics companies have been cutting jobs due to the slowdown in freight demand, some trucking companies anticipate a rebound in freight demand in the second half of the year.

The Cass Freight Index, which measures trucking and rail shipments moving in the U.S., dropped 3.2% from December to January, the most recent data available.

March 28, 2023

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