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In 2025, technology has become an integral part of virtually every business under the sun. This is especially true for the logistics industry, which has been trying to use technology to address a serious labor shortage. Difficulty in the recruitment and retention of truckers is on the verge of crippling the supply chain.
From basic tools like route optimization software to full-on autonomous vehicles, the push to evolve has never been stronger for those hauling freight. There is a lot of talk about tech, but are businesses actually getting on board?
In our latest industry report – Logistics Tech: Steering the Future of the Industry – we outline some of the statistics behind technology in the logistics industry, including how much of a priority it is, what businesses are focusing on, and how professional actually feel about self-driving trucks.
- 69% of businesses state that Trump’s tariffs have caused a change to their company’s operations.
- 39% of logistics professionals said that they are preparing for reduced freight demand as a result of tariff uncertainty.
- 48% of businesses are preparing for increased vehicle and equipment costs as a result of tariffs.
Investment in Tech a Priority
Given the fact that the logistics industry is suffering a dire trucker shortage that threatens the strength of the supply chain, many businesses have been turning to technology as a way to alleviate the burden.
In fact, our data found that 15% of businesses are focusing on the adoption of new technology more than any other priority this quarter, which was the third most popular answer behind vehicle upkeep and managing financial pressure.
More importantly, the focus on adopting new technology has been fairly consistent over the last few months. In April, 14% of businesses were prioritizing the adoption of new technology, 12% were doing so in June, and 16% were doing so in July, which points to the importance of businesses investing in technology as a means to solving their problems.
Tech touches every industry, and logistics is no exception. In fact, it could be argued that it’s a sector where the emergence of AI and automation could have the biggest impact. We’re already seeing small packages being delivered by drones and self-driving trucks rumbling through Texas. While these activities may not be widespread, the seeds are being sewn.
Tech Comes to Logistics’ Aid
Technology is a pretty broad term, particularly when talking about the logistics industry. So, given all of these professionals prioritizing its use to improve their business, what kind of technology is actually being utilized right now?
According to our data, 46% of businesses are looking to adopt route optimization software to make life a bit easier on the road. Beyond that, scheduling and dispatch software (37%), vehicle maintenance systems (37%), asset tracking platforms (36%), and electronic logging devices (34%) were also quite popular.
While these cost management technologies are popular now, that doesn’t mean they’ll be the go-to solutions for the foreseeable future. Our data found that 17% of logistics professionals believe that autonomous vehicles and drones will have the most disruptive impact on the sector over the next two to three years.
The Reality of Self-Driving Trucks
With the trucker shortage creating havoc, self-driving vehicles and other autonomous technologies are poised to eventually take over the logistics industry. But when it comes to how long that’s going to take, the industry is very much split on the timeline.
According to our data, 31% of logistics professionals believe that widespread use of self-driving trucks on public roads will occur sometime in the 2030s, representing the most voted-for expected decade in the survey. The next most common was sometime in the 2040s (23%) and sometime later this decade (11%).
In total, though, that means that 65% of logistics professionals believes that autonomous vehicles will see widespread use on public roads before the year 2050. And given we’re only 25 years off and many companies are already deep into testing the technology, that feels like a pretty safe bet.
Tech.co: Who Are We and Where Did This Report Come From?
Tech.co is a global media brand with a focus on B2B technology. We cover a broad range of business technologies, from white collar solutions like website builders, project management tools, or CRM platforms, to blue collar tech solutions like field service, asset tracking, and fleet management.
For our most recent project — a series of seven reports covering the key dynamics of the logistics sector across most of 2025 so far — we opted for multi-faceted in-depth research that combined three core data sources.
First, we included the results from a pulse tracker survey we’ve been running every month since April 2025. Our 1,582 responses include logistics professionals, from ground-level staffers to senior management.
Second, we used our BenchmarkMe Survey data, which tracked 840 responses from purchase-decision makers discussing their technology priorities.
Finally, we conducted direct interviews with a selection of industry leaders, for added context.
Download our full Logistics Tech: Steering the Future of the Industry report here to get a complete look at the valuable insights we found.
