What is the size of the Transportation Management Systems (TMS) market?
The short answer is that it depends on whom you ask, how broadly or narrowly you define TMS, and your sizing methodology. I did a quick Google search this morning and here’s a sampling of what I found:
- Gartner: “[Our] forecast on TMS, worldwide, estimates that the market is expected to grow from $1.32 billion to $2.11 billion (from 2019 through 2024). That is growth of 60% over a five-year period!”
- Precedence Research: “The global transportation management systems market size was evaluated at USD 12.1 billion in 2022 and it is projected to be worth around USD 35.34 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 11.32% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2032.”
- MarketsandMarkets: “The global Transportation Management System market size is expected to grow from USD 13.5 billion in 2023 to USD 33.3 billion by 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.7% during the forecast period.”
- Mordor Intelligence: “The Transportation Management System Market size is estimated at USD 2.08 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 3.19 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.92% during the forecast period (2024-2029).”
I also asked ChatGPT and here’s what it said:
As of my last update, the global transportation management systems (TMS) market size was estimated to be around $16-17 billion, with projections for steady growth. The growth rate can vary based on factors such as region, industry trends, and technological advancements.
I base my estimates on a variety of sources, including market research reports from firms such as Gartner, Forrester, and MarketsandMarkets, as well as industry publications, company reports, and news articles. These sources typically analyze market trends, growth drivers, and competitive landscapes to provide insights into market size and growth rates. For the most current and detailed information, I recommend consulting these sources directly.
During the first half of my analyst career, I produced a TMS market study every year that estimated market size and growth rate. If you do it right, it’s a time consuming process: a lot of data collection, vendor interviews, and secondary research. It also requires a lot of “educated guesses,” which is why the process is part art and part science. And why there is such a broad range of market sizes and growth rates out there.
Every year I produced the study, the TMS market grew and the forecasted growth rate was always positive too. In fact, in my 25 years as an industry analyst, I have yet to see an analyst report from any firm that showed the TMS market shrinking with a negative CAGR.
The TMS market is somewhat unique in that demand stays relatively strong despite economic conditions. When the economy is strong, companies invest in TMS to help them scale their operations more efficiently and profitably. When the economy is weak, they invest in TMS to reduce/control transportation costs and “do more with less” people.
I no longer produce a TMS market study. To be honest, the question “What is the size of the TMS market?” doesn’t interest me any more. I don’t think many TMS users — manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and third-party logistics providers — are interested in that question either. Or at least, they’re more interested in answering other questions, such as:
- Should we continue to invest internally in our transportation operations (e.g., implement or upgrade TMS, hire more planners and dispatchers) or outsource our operations to a third-party logistics provider?
- Do we continue to invest in our own proprietary TMS solution or should we evaluate third-party solutions to see if they’re now able to meet our current and foreseeable future needs?
- Is the TMS we implemented five, seven, or ten years ago still best-in-class and aligned with our requirements moving forward or are there newer, more sophisticated solutions we should consider?
- What factors are important to ensure TMS implementation success and user satisfaction?
- How do we continue to get value from our TMS after the first year?
- What are the latest innovations in TMS technology and how are they delivering value to companies like mine?
Those are some of the questions I spend my time researching these days. And this one too: Why are so many companies, including some $1B+ ones, still managing their transportation operations with spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes?
What is the size of the TMS market? You can just say it’s big and growing. Always has been, always will be. Now let’s move on to exploring more interesting and important questions.
