US logistics costs drop to 7.8% of GDP, CSCMP and Kearney report finds

Total US logistics costs came in at 7.8% of GDP in 2026, according to the 37th edition of the State of the Logistics Union report, published jointly by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Kearney. The figure marks a decline from prior years and gives supply chain leaders one of the most closely watched annual benchmarks in the industry.

The report, cited by Supply Chain Digest, breaks out costs across every major logistics category. That granularity matters: a GDP-level headline tells you direction, but the category breakdown is what allows a VP of operations or a logistics finance lead to test whether their own cost structure is moving in line with the market or drifting away from it.

What the number signals for cost benchmarking

A logistics cost ratio of 7.8% of GDP reflects pressure from multiple directions absorbed over the past several years: freight rate normalization after the pandemic-era spike, continued investment in network efficiency, and slower inventory accumulation across retail and manufacturing sectors. The direction is down, but the absolute level still represents a massive share of economic output.

For enterprise operators, the more actionable layer of the report is its category-level breakdown. US logistics costs are typically segmented into transportation (the largest share, historically accounting for well over half of total logistics spend), inventory carrying costs, and shipper-related administrative expenses. Each category responds to different levers: carrier contract strategy, safety stock policy, warehouse footprint decisions, and financing rates all feed into the final number.

Organizations running logistics cost as a percentage of revenue above or below the national GDP ratio need to understand which category is driving the variance. A company that looks efficient on transportation but carries bloated inventory is exposed differently than one with lean stock but premium freight rates.

Context: where the report fits in the planning calendar

The State of the Logistics Union has been published annually for 37 years and is widely used in budget planning, carrier negotiation preparation, and boardroom briefings on supply chain efficiency. CSCMP and Kearney draw on government data and proprietary analysis to construct the estimates, making it one of the few third-party sources that attempts a comprehensive, economy-wide tally rather than a sector-specific survey.

The 2026 edition arrives as US manufacturing has posted six consecutive months of growth according to ISM PMI data, also reported this week by Supply Chain Digest. Stronger manufacturing output typically puts upward pressure on freight volumes and, over time, transportation costs. Whether the 7.8% ratio holds or creeps back up in next year's report will partly depend on how that manufacturing recovery interacts with carrier capacity additions and ongoing network rationalization by large shippers.

What this means for your team

• Pull your own logistics cost as a percentage of revenue and map it against the 7.8% GDP benchmark. If you are materially above it, identify which category, transportation, inventory carrying, or administration, is the primary driver.
• Use the category breakdown in the CSCMP/Kearney report to frame internal conversations with finance about where logistics investment is delivering efficiency and where it is not.
• If your organization is in the middle of carrier contract renewals or a network design review, reference the report's directional data to set realistic cost reduction targets rather than applying arbitrary percentage reductions.
• Flag the manufacturing PMI growth trend to your freight procurement team now. Six consecutive months of production expansion historically tightens truckload capacity in the quarters that follow, which could reverse some of the cost relief this report documents.