U.S. Biopharmaceutical Third Party Logistics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product Type (Specialty Drugs, Generics), By Supply Chain (Non-cold, Cold Chain), By Service Type, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The U.S. biopharmaceutical third party logistics market size was valued at USD 36.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1% from 2021 to 2028. The market is majorly driven by the launch of innovative biopharmaceutical products including cell & gene therapies that are creating more demand for cold chain storage, transport & distribution solutions. Moreover, 3PL service providers are also investing in technology due to fluctuating demand, capacity problems, and ongoing disruptions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to restrictions on air travel & disrupting the airfreight market & delaying of supply of health products including vaccines to many countries. In the initial months of the pandemic, all the existing airfreight rates were suspended with UNICEF registering rate rises by as much as 500% but stabilizing at between 150 to 250%.

The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered vulnerabilities within the supply chains, including the risk of just-in-time inventory & the likely benefits of relocating production near to the consumption point. A study looked at areas most impacted by the pandemic for shippers that comprises international transportation & logistics (43%), sourcing & procurement (30%), and manufacturing (24%). The third-party logistics market was largely impacted by labor & workforce management (33%), manufacturing (24%), and international transportation & logistics (23%).

The pandemic has also enhanced the demand within the cold chain. Maximum shippers expect the demand for cold chain capacity to rise over the next three years. Hence, most third-party providers have speeded up their growth plans, thus increasing their need for more cold chain capacity.

In addition, the companies are also playing a key role in the pandemic to meet the growing demand. For instance, McKesson’s deep expertise in the healthcare supply chain is playing an important role in delivering medical supplies & pharmaceuticals to customers & patients during critical times. This comprises supporting the U.S. government as a centralized distributor of the COVID-19 vaccines and the ancillary supply kits required to administer them.

Supply Chain Insights

The non-cold chain logistics led the market with the largest revenue share of more than 80% in 2020. This is attributed to the fact that the majority of pharmaceutical drugs do not need temperature control and are shipped as general cargo. Moreover, as temperature-control solutions are costly to implement and maintain, the companies are reluctant to adopt these practices.

Cold chain logistics is projected to witness the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. This is credited to the increasing demand for blood-related products as well as vaccines that require temperature-controlled environments for their transportation. In addition, high adoption of cold chain products in both the developed & developing regions and continuous innovation in new drugs is supporting the segment growth.

Service Type Insights

The warehousing & transportation segment led the market with a revenue share of over 43% in 2020. This is owing to the high demand for third-party warehouse and storage services in the U.S. Increase in drug development activities and stringent regulations are anticipated to further boost the demand for such services in the country.

Other services, such as packaging, custom & duty management, procurement services, and a few other value-added services, are anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecasts period. Packaging is one of the crucial elements of the market since the transportation of drugs primarily depends on its packaging. Biopharmaceutical companies pay a lot of attention to the packaging quality to maintain uniformity, purity, integrity, shelf life, standard, and quality of products.

Product Type Insights

The specialty drugs product type segment accounted for the maximum revenue share of more than 39% of the global market in 2020. The segment is also anticipated to witness the fastest growth rate over the forecast period. Growth in specialty pharma and easy availability of low-cost 3PL service offerings are expected to propel the growth of the specialty drugs segment over the forecast period.

Specialty drugs are high-cost prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. They sometimes require special handling. These innovative, complex & high-priced specialty drugs are entering U.S. healthcare at a rapid rate. An increased amount of money is being devoted to specialty pharmacy. In the next five years, more than USD 100 billion is anticipated to be spent on developing generic specialty drugs.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is highly competitive. Key players are undertaking various strategic initiatives to remain competitive and gain higher market share. Some of the strategic initiatives include partnerships & collaborative agreements and geographic expansions. For instance, in March 2021, FedEx Express announced that it has started shipping the newly approved vaccines for COVID-19 to dosing centers all over the U.S. on behalf of McKesson Corporation. Some of the prominent players in the U.S. biopharmaceutical third party logistics market include:

• FedEx.

• DHL International GmbH

• SF Express

• United Parcel Service of America, Inc.

• AmerisourceBergen Corporation

• DB Schenker

• KUEHNE + NAGEL

• Kerry Logistics Network Ltd.

• Agility

U.S. Biopharmaceutical Third Party Logistics Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2028. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the U.S. biopharmaceutical third party logistics market report on the basis of supply chain, service type, and product type:

• Supply Chain Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2028)

  • Cold chain

  • Non-cold chain

• Service Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2028)

  • Transportation

    • Air freight

    • Sea freight

    • Overland transportation

  • Warehousing and storage

  • Others

• Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2016 - 2028)

  • Specialty Drugs

  • Generics

  • Plasma Derived Products

  • Others