Transportation management has evolved over the past decade from an operational function into a strategic driver of business growth, customer experience and competitive differentiation, according to the results of the 10th Annual Global Transportation Management Benchmark Survey from Descartes Systems Group. 

It also reveals that the next phase of transformation will depend on organizations’ ability to scale automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Over the 10 years of the study, the percentage of surveyed North American organizations planning to increase transportation management (TM) technology investment has risen from 53% in 2017 to 78% in 2026.

At the same time, 85% of organizations now view transportation as either a competitive weapon or customer service differentiator, compared with 65% in 2017.

Evolution of Technology

Business growth is also the leading driver of transportation management system (TMS) adoption for both shippers (53%) and logistics service providers (LSPs) (48%), maintaining its top position for the second year in a row.

Despite transportation’s growing strategic role and sustained technology investment, the study identifies significant opportunities to advance operational maturity. In addition, only 19% of shippers and 15% of LSPs report using AI at scale, with most organizations still exploring, piloting or partially deploying it.

Data quality is the leading barrier to scaling AI, cited by 45% of LSPs and 33% of shippers, followed closely by integration complexity at 38% and 39%, respectively.

The findings suggest the next stage of transportation AI adoption will depend increasingly on the digital infrastructure that enables AI to operate effectively across transportation networks.

Other key findings include:

• Growth expectations remain resilient: 79% of shippers expect at least 5% annual growth over the next two years, while 84% of LSPs expect the same. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of LSPs expect annual growth of 5–15%, up 26 percentage points year over year.
• Cost pressures remain significant: Freight cost management is the largest current transportation challenge for shippers (35%) and LSPs (25%). Rising industry costs are also the top external factor expected to impact transportation management over the next five years.
• AI is producing tangible operational benefits: Shippers report the greatest realized AI benefit in reduced administrative and labor costs (55%), while LSPs cite improved service (53%) and freight cost reduction (46%).
• Truckload visibility needs improvement: Full truckload is the mode most frequently identified as needing better real-time visibility, cited by 57% of shippers and 43% of LSPs—up 14 and 19 percentage points, respectively, from 2025.
• AI and cost control create a dual mandate: Increasing AI adoption is the top transportation priority for shippers and LSPs combined (58%) over the next two years, with reducing freight costs a close second (57%).

“Ten years of benchmark research shows that the transportation technology conversation has fundamentally changed,” said Alan Dunkerley,  senior vice president of production management at Descartes, in a statement.

“Organizations no longer need to be convinced that transportation technology creates value, as they are increasingly focused on how to maximize that value. In addition, with AI now a strategic priority, the ability to connect transportation networks, automate processes and create high-quality, real-time data will be critical to moving AI from experimentation into scaled transportation operations.”