25 Transloading Statistics Supply Chain Experts are Excited About in 2024

Looking for the latest transloading statistics? 

The transload freight shipping industry is getting more competitive everyday. 

If you want to stand out and win customers, you need to keep up with the latest transloading trends, including what commodities your clients frequently ship. 

A Inbound Logistics survey showed that 33% of logistics providers struggle to find customers. This is largely due to poor market understanding.  

You can improve your transloading facility’s competitive positioning with the transloading statistics we’ll explore here. We’ll unearth very vital data on key goods to target, various types of transloading services to prioritize & also essential investment areas to consider. 

What’s more, you’ll discover how transload management tools can help you improve worker productivity, streamline your operations & enhance customer acquisition as well. 

If you’d like to find out other ways you can improve transloading operations, check out this article I wrote about mobile transloading systems and what they offer.

In this article, we’ll discuss transloading statistics supply chain experts are excited about in 2024 to help you enhance transloading efficiency and revenue for your business. 

Let’s get started. 

A. Rail & truck transloading statistics

So what is truck to rail transloading? 

Truck to rail transloading is the process of transferring freight between trucks and railcars, and it may even involve railcar switching strategies for more efficient shipping. 

It is a tactic that helps you avoid high shipping costs, and even expand your market reach by storing goods close to key locations. 

That said, here are some key truck to rail transloading statistics you should know about:  

1) Cargo trains are up to 500% more fuel efficient than trucks over long distances. By transloading from truck to rail, you can therefore lower fuel costs by five times, ensuring more cost-efficient shipping and a profitable supply chain for your business. (Source – ScienceDirect)

2) A single rail car can move up to 4 truckloads worth of freight. So for a 60-car train, you can move the same amount of freight that you’d need 240 trucks to haul. This again proves huge cost-saving benefits of rail to truck transloading. (Source – US Department of Transportation)

3) 23% is the amount by which you can lower your shipping costs through freight consolidation. Transloading enables you to share truck or rail space with other shippers, which, in turn, enables you to split transportation costs to make your supply chain even more financially sustainable. (Source – TranSET)

4) 5.04% is the compound annual growth rate of the rail freight market. It’s set to reach a value of $509.98 billion by 2029, up from $398.93 billion in 2024 . So these transloading statistics predict huge demand growth  for rail transloading services in the coming years. (Source – Mordor Intelligence)

5) In 2023, approximately 41.8% of all freight movements involved intermodal transload shipping tactics. These are strategies that entail using two or more modes of transportation, such as rail, sea and road, for example, to ship cargo. (Source – Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

B. Statistics about transload yard management software

Running a transload yard isn’t easy. 

One of the top transloading challenges that often crops up is poor visibility over assets like railcars, shipments and warehouse inventory. For this reason, I recommend that you consider using a real time transload yard management tool to improve your operations. 

Click here to book your free transloads.co demo to see our software in action.

We’ll explore important features that can help you track various assets including inventory, railcars and shipments to improve efficiency and yard visibility. 

In order to help you learn more about transload yard management software solutions, I’ve rounded up the following transloading statistics for us to go over:

6) 12.7% is the compound annual growth rate of the transload yard management software market, which is set to grow to $13.3 billion by 2030. This is a great improvement from its 2023 value of $5.8, translating to a growth over double its current size. (Source – RM)

7) 92% of logistics businesses believe that a great transloading software can add value to their operations. I couldn’t agree more because the right transloading tool is a priceless asset for your business, helping you to increase efficiency, transloading capacity and throughput. (Source – FourKites)

8) 55% of transload yards said that manual processes such as inventory counting and filing paperwork are the biggest threat to their operations. This is why they’re turning to transloading management solutions like transloads.co, which enables you to digitize your operations and automate key transloading tasks. (Source – FourKites)

9) 41% of yards confessed that the top goal for using transload management software was to reduce driver dwell time and detention. With a great software solution, you can coordinate transloading logistics better to reduce the risk of yard congestion through more efficient freight movements. (Source – Vector)

10) 58% of companies using a transloading software solution said the biggest benefit they’ve realized is increased operational efficiency, while 21% ranked reduced paperwork as the top advantage. These transloading statistics prove just a fraction of the immense ROI that the right transloading solution offers your business. (Source – Vector)

C. Transloading warehouse statistics 

Do you own a transloading warehouse?

There are many benefits to starting a warehouse business for transloading. The most important one is that it enables you to hold inventory for your customers, giving them greater flexibility while allowing your business to earn from value-added services.

In this section, we’ll discuss important transloading statistics about warehouses to help you optimize your operations and improve business performance: 

11) 52% of transloading warehouses admitted to having expansion plans for their business. It comes as no surprise really given the skyrocketing demand for transloading services, which makes it a very opportune time to get into the transloading business. (Source – WSL)

12) 80% of transloading warehouses are keen to add more value-added offers in a bid to win over more clients. Today, your customers are looking for end-to-end logistics solutions, so it’s prudent and more profitable to consider offering complimentary services like freight forwarding and transportation. (Source – Zebra Technologies)

13) 37% of logistics companies leverage scenario planning and predictive analytics to run their warehouse businesses. With a great transloading software solution, you can get important data analytics that facilitate demand forecasting, enabling you to make more informed decisions for your transloading business. (Source – McKinsey)

14) 84% of businesses admit that they’ve implemented a transload warehouse management solution in their workflow. It’s a trend that’s catching on because these tools offer immense benefits such as maximizing space utilization, reducing inventory fraud and enhancing dock worker collaboration. (Source – Logistics Management)

15) In 2023, at least 89% of transloading warehouses tracked their performance. Some important KPIs you can set for your transloading business include lead time, inventory turnover rates and on-time shipping delivery, just to name a few. (Source – Warehousing and Fulfillment)

D. Statistics about transloaded goods

You can transload numerous commodities.

From dry bulk cargo like lumber and grain to liquid bulk commodities such as oil and butane, there are countless options to consider. This makes choosing a niche to specialize in very challenging, which is why I recommend seeking expert guidance. 

Click here to get our premium support services for starting a successful transloading business. 

With our assistance, you’ll set up the right type of transloading facility, source skilled workers and even market your services strategically to land clients for the types of goods you handle.

That said, here are some more insightful statistics about the transloading industry:

16) With a total annual value of $1.2 trillion, motorized goods and vehicle and vehicle parts are the most shipped and transloaded goods in the US. So this can be a very profitable niche of transloading for your business to focus. (Source – US Census Bureau) 

17) $1.1 trillion is the total annual value of electronics and electrical equipment shipped to the US. As a result, we can conclude that these are also among the most transloaded commodities today, so it’s also another profitable venture to consider for your transloading business. (Source – US Census Bureau) 

18) 40% of dangerous goods (DG) executives said their company plans to increase their DG investments to enable them to ship these items safely according to regulatory requirements. Some of the most common dangerous goods that are often transloaded include industrial chemicals, crude oil and coal. (Source – IATA)

19) $36.283 trillion was the total value of shipments, both imports and exports, transported by truck in 2023. This made it the most popular mode of freight transportation, which is why services like cross decking and through trailer transloading are gaining momentum. (Source – Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

20) In 2022, over 866 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) containers were shipped and transloaded worldwide. Transloading statistics further indicate that this volume will increase to 988 million by 2027, further fueling the already rising demand for container transloading services. (Source – Statista)

E. Statistics about transloading technology

Transloading attracts unique material handling needs.

From liquid bulk products to full container loads, you need the right transloading equipment and the best transload warehouse management tools to ensure safer and more efficient cargo transfers. 

If you’re looking to learn more about important tools that can enhance your transloading operations, here are some more transloading statistics I’ve compiled for you: 

21) 58% of supply chain leaders plan to deploy radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies in their transloading warehouses by 2028. This is a wireless communication technology that helps you to track and identify inventory items using special tags and readers. (Source – Zebra Technologies)

22) 73% of logistics businesses aim to accelerate their warehouse modernization efforts. They plan to deploy new transcoding software, robotics process automation and dock scheduling solutions to primarily lower their labor needs and improve their capacity. (Source – Zebra Technologies)

23) 70% of supply chain companies have either tested or implemented generative AI technology in their workflows. This can be a very valuable ally, particularly when it comes to analyzing data about your transloading warehouse and business in order to unearth key market trends. (Source – PwC)

24) 50% of logistics businesses increased their overall technology budget in 2024, with 55% saying that accelerating business growth is top motivation. From the transloading statistics I reviewed, other key goals behind this trend include reducing costs (54%) and enhancing decision making quality (53%) for their businesses. (Source – PwC)

25) 94% of companies leverage wooden pallets, making them the most common type of pallet used during transloading. In terms of size dynamics, the most prevalent pallet sizes include 48 by 40 inch configurations, followed by the 48 by 48 inch pallet. (Source – Logistics Management)

Conclusion

Considering transloading to bolster your logistics?

The performance of your supply chain massively influences business outcomes

When your supply chain isn’t reliable or efficient, your business can experience higher operational expenses and even disruptions that slow down growth. 

In fact, 79% of organizations with high-performing supply chains achieve above average revenue growth in their industry, according to a Deloitte survey. Transloading is one way to improve your logistics and the reliability of your supply chain.

With the transloading statistics we’ve covered, you now have a great idea of effective transloading strategies for implementing this shipping strategy. I also recommend investing in transloading software to amplify the efficiency of logistics processes. 

Click here to book your free transloasds.co demo to learn more about our software.

We’ll discuss essential features for tracking shipments, managing inventory and coordinating workers and how it can help you improve your business’s logistics overall.