3PLs and e‑commerce under pressure
3PL operators are emphasizing asset-based trucking over brokerage to secure capacity and reliability during transport crunches, according to social posts. Media coverage also flagged widening pressure on delivery economics and last‑mile models, suggesting network reconfiguration—consolidation or shifting volume to regional hubs—remains common. (x.com)
Third-party logistics companies are leaning harder on trucks they control, not just brokered capacity, as freight markets tighten and e-commerce delivery stays expensive. (freightwaves.com) FreightWaves reported in January that 2026 trucking capacity was set to tighten after a long stretch of carrier exits, leaving “less slack” and giving carriers more power to choose which shippers get trucks first. Its March 2026 3PL Summit preview said brokers were also contending with cargo theft, fraud and freight-market volatility. (freightwaves.com 1) (freightwaves.com 2) That backdrop favors asset-based operators, which own or lease tractors, trailers and drivers, because they can promise committed capacity when spot-market coverage gets harder to find. Brokerage still fills gaps, but the value shifts toward providers that can secure service without depending entirely on outside carriers. (freightwaves.com 1) (freightwaves.com 2) The pressure is not only on linehaul trucking. Retailers and parcel carriers have spent the past year reworking last-mile networks because home delivery remains one of the costliest parts of e-commerce. (cnbc.com) (supplychaindive.com) United Parcel Service pulled 100% of SurePost volume in-house at the start of 2025 after U.S. Postal Service contract changes, and executives later tied that move to cost and reliability concerns. FedEx said its Network 2.0 consolidation had cut pickup-and-delivery costs by 10% in markets where the plan was fully rolled out. (supplychaindive.com 1) (supplychaindive.com 2) Retailers are making similar changes closer to the customer. Target said on April 9, 2026 that more than 100 stores in 50 markets will offer its direct-from-store next-day service by the end of 2026, after the program operated in six stores in two markets a year earlier. (supplychaindive.com) Target has also been building sortation centers that pull packages from 30 to 40 nearby stores, while Amazon has kept pushing a regionalized fulfillment model and said in April 2025 that it would spend $4 billion by the end of 2026 to expand delivery in rural America. (tradeandindustrydev.com) (cnbc.com) (sec.gov) Walmart said in November 2025 that more than half of its e-commerce fulfillment-center volume was moving through automated systems, a change it said was lowering shipping costs. That is the same basic playbook showing up across the sector: move inventory closer to demand, raise delivery density and cut the number of costly handoffs. (supplychaindive.com) For third-party logistics providers, that means the old promise of finding a truck anywhere is no longer enough on its own. The operators with owned capacity, tighter regional networks and direct control over more of the route are in a stronger position as shippers keep chasing cheaper, more reliable delivery. (freightwaves.com) (cnbc.com)
