Healthcare Third Party Logistics Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Healthcare Third-party Logistics Market is projected to expand from USD 266.34 Million in 2025 to USD 406.93 Million by 2031, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 7.32%. Defined as the strategic outsourcing of supply chain management functions - such as transportation, warehousing, and inventory control - to specialized external providers, the market is primarily driven by the globalization of pharmaceutical trade, the growing complexity of distributing temperature-sensitive biologics, and the necessity for manufacturers to optimize operational costs through external expertise.

According to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, North America represented 54.8% of estimated global pharmaceutical sales in 2024, a volume that underscores the critical need for robust logistical networks to handle medical product flows across diverse regions. However, the market faces significant challenges due to an intricate and fragmented regulatory landscape; varying compliance standards across different jurisdictions enforce rigorous requirements that increase both operational complexity and liability risks for logistics providers.

Market Drivers

A surging demand for temperature-controlled cold chain logistics is fundamentally reshaping the Global Healthcare Third-party Logistics Market, necessitated by the rapid growth of biologics, vaccines, and cell therapies that require strict thermal stability to avoid spoilage. As reported by Maersk in April 2024, global expenditure on biopharma cold chain logistics was projected to reach $21.3 billion that year, a trend supported by the vitality of global trade networks; the International Air Transport Association noted that global air cargo demand rose by 11.3% in 2024, highlighting the substantial volume of international shipments crucial for healthcare supply chains.

A second primary driver is the increasing trend of outsourcing non-core logistics operations, which allows pharmaceutical companies to focus on research and development while delegating complex supply chain tasks to external experts to save costs and avoid maintaining in-house infrastructure. Logistics providers are aggressively scaling their capabilities to meet this demand; for instance, DHL Supply Chain announced a $200 million investment in February 2024 to expand its life sciences and healthcare infrastructure in the United States, specifically aiming to accommodate the sector's rising need for specialized warehousing and distribution solutions.

Market Challenges

The intricate and fragmented regulatory landscape poses a formidable barrier to the expansion of the Global Healthcare Third-party Logistics Market, as providers must navigate a complex web of compliance standards like Good Distribution Practices (GDP) and serialization mandates that differ significantly by jurisdiction. This lack of harmonization forces companies to maintain specialized quality assurance teams and redundant compliance systems, which drives up operational overhead, increases liability risks, and diverts critical resources away from infrastructure development and market expansion.

The economic consequences of these stringent requirements are reflected in the sector's diminishing profitability, which restricts the capital available for growth. In 2024, the Healthcare Distribution Alliance reported that net profit margins for pharmaceutical distributors dropped to just 0.2 percent; these constricted margins, resulting from the high costs of adhering to rigorous operational and compliance standards, severely limit the financial capacity of logistics providers to invest in necessary technology upgrades or enter new, complex markets.

Market Trends

The integration of AI-driven predictive analytics for demand forecasting is transforming the market by enabling providers to anticipate disruptions and optimize routes in real-time, accounting for risks such as weather or geopolitical events. This shift toward proactive supply chain management is essential for high-value pharmaceuticals, as highlighted by a November 2025 report in Supply & Demand Chain Executive, which noted that 53% of pharmaceutical supply chain leaders are currently evaluating AI and machine learning specifically to generate predictive risk alerts and enhance operational resilience.

Simultaneously, the implementation of sustainable and green logistics initiatives is becoming a decisive factor in vendor selection, driven by pharmaceutical manufacturers' commitments to reduce Scope 3 emissions through the use of electric vehicles and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). This transition is a strategic imperative to meet client sustainability mandates and global regulations; for example, a December 2025 Carbon Credits article reported that DHL Express secured a binding contract for 50 million liters of SAF to support its air cargo operations, directly addressing the sector's growing demand for low-carbon transport solutions.

Key Players Profiled in the Healthcare Third-party Logistics Market

• Cardinal Health
• DHL Group
• SF Express
• Kinesis Medical B.V.
• United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
• Barrett Distribution
• AmerisourceBergen Corporation
• KUEHNE + NAGEL
• Kerry Logistics Network Ltd.
• Freight Logistics Solutions

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Healthcare Third party Logistics Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Healthcare Third party Logistics Market, by Industry:

• Biopharmaceutical
• Medical Device
• Pharmaceutical

Healthcare Third party Logistics Market, by Service Type:

• Transportation
• Warehousing and Storage
• Others

Healthcare Third party Logistics Market, by Supply Chain:

• Cold Chain
• Non-Cold Chain

Healthcare Third party Logistics Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Healthcare Third party Logistics Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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