Logistics List

The Midwestern United States (typically known as the “Midwest”) is one of the most important logistics corridors in the country and just about any logistics company that matters has some presence in this vital region. With a population of more than 66 million residing in these 12 states, it is one of the most important of the 4 geographic regions in the US.

From Chicago, the third largest freight handler in the world and the single largest rail transfer in the United States to key distribution points in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis/St. Paul among others, the Midwest is home to professional 3PL service providers strategically located to best service the midwest region and to create strong anchors in nationwide warehousing and distribution networks.

Midwest Logistics Companies by State

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Ohio
• Wisconsin

The Midwest has long been a logistics stronghold and you will find quality third party logistics companies providing warehousing, freight management, and integrated logistics providers in all states in the Midwest. As you can see, we have officially launched the entire Midwest region at Logistics List with listings from 3pl companies in each market.

The Pacific Northwest has always been a key region for the logistics industry but it is likely to emerge as a growth area in the 3PL industry as the population in the surrounding areas continues to grow and as our trade with China picks up.

While Southern California had the most notable spike in traffic during the recession, the Pacific Northwest with its key ports in the Portland, OR and Seattle, WA markets, will become increasingly important in the coming years.

Currently around 70% of international cargo coming into the region is intermodal and transferred via rail to bigger inland markets such as Chicago. But with West Coast trade volumes set to double by 2020, the Pacific Northwest is set to become key to supporting this growth.

For companies looking for reliable logistics and warehousing services in the pacific northwest there are many excellent logistics companies in Seattle and  3pl providers in Portland.

For people new to the supply chain management and logistics industry, the term “3PL” is likely an unfamiliar term. This is certainly not surprising as every industry always has their own set of acronyms and buzz words, but I’d like to provide some clarity to the commonly asked question, What is a 3pl?

A couple years ago I put together a list to provide a 3PL definition but truly understanding what a 3PL company is and the services they provide really deserves a more in depth explanation.

While it isn’t immediately clear exactly who coined the term 3pl, its beginnings can be traced to the 70′s and 80′s as companies outsourced more and more logistics services to 3rd parties. Over time these 3^rd party logistics service providers (3PLs) expanded their services to cover specific geographies, commodities, modes of transport and integrated their existing warehousing and transportation services, becoming what we now know today as a “3PL” (more…)

In these challenging economic times, it is not surprising that managers across all areas of supply chain are being asked to do more with less. In fact, 51% of respondents are feeling the pressure to manage change without increasing staffing or warehouse space.

Learn the 5 Key Steps for 3PL, logistics and supply chain professionals to consider through 2010 in this free report from the Aberdeen Group. (more…)

To ring in the beginning of 2010, we have again expanded Logistics List into 4 new states in our continued mission to expand the depth of our leading 3PL directory serving the warehousing, transportation, and distribution industries.

Over the last year, logistics and supply chain management executives worldwide have been working tirelessly to respond to the recession and develop next generation supply chain strategies to get their respective organizations back on track. (more…)

In our continued expansion into additional regions, we are happy to announce the addition of new extensions to Logistic List’s regional offerings covering logistics companies in Florida (focusing on 3PL providers in the FL marketing including Jacksonville, Orlanda, Miami, and Tampa) as well as a long overdue section for New York 3PL companies for logistics providers serving the greater New York area.

Also for you folks that are into social media we also would like to announce our arrival on twitter. Feel free to follow us @logisticslist. If there is a state that you think we should add next to our logistics directory please let us know.

This year’s annual 3pl study sponsored by Oracle, Capgemini, Georgia Institute of Technology and Panalpina was just recently released.

Since its inception 14 years ago, the Annual Third Party Logistics study has documented the growth and evolution of the 3PL industry.

The 2009 3PL study includes four streams of research:

• a web-based survey
• workshops with shippers
• leveraging the Capgemini Accelerated Solutions Environment
• focus interviews with industry executives.

To request a copy of the full study click here

We are pleased to announce the launch of two new regional directories at Logistics List covering Logistics Companies in Texas and 3PL Providers in Ohio. Our mission is to continue building out our directory to serve all of the major markets for warehousing and transportation services. While a good number of the logistics companies listed have a national presence it continues to be valuable to our visitors to be able to drill down and get a list of leading 3PL’s in each individual market.

If there is a state that you are looking for that we don’t presently cover look out in the coming months as we begin to add new states to our directory. (more…)

In this increasingly volatile business environment, logistics providers continue to look for ways to define themselves and deliver best-in-class services. But a lot of times these attempts at differentiation lead to confusing jargon and acronyms that continue to be built upon year after year.

A few years ago I wrote a post to help distinguish the difference between 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th party logistics. The other day I read a great article in DC Velocity that claimed there was a consultant out there that was trying to define “5th party logistics”.

The latest jargon that is now gaining adoption is that of the Logistics Service Provider and Lead Logistics Provider

Logistics Service Provider – An LSP is really what most people would see as a traditional 3PL provider offering a combination of warehousing and transportation services or one or the other. As global and multi national providers enter the game, things have certainly changed, but the Logistics Service Provider at its core is fundamentally the same. (more…)