Logistics costs for U.S. businesses rose 11 percent in 2006 to $1.31 trillion, outpacing the economy (3.5 percent) and nearing the psychological threshold of 10 percent of productivity relative to the whole economy, according to an annual report that tracks trends in logistics spending.
It was the third straight year that logistics costs have risen in nominal and real terms after two decades of efficiency improvements in packing, storing and transporting goods had brought such costs to historic lows.
U.S. logistics costs represented 9.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, up from 9.4 percent in 2005, on the strength of high interest rates that drove up inventory costs and fuel surcharges passed on by freight carriers, according to transportation consultant Rosalyn Wilson, who authored the 18th annual State of Logistics report.