Staff Report

The logistics sector in South Carolina is worth $37.2 billion to the state, a study from the S.C. Council on Competitiveness found.

The council, a public-private collaborative dedicated to the support of economic development clusters in South Carolina, released the report today. It was conducted with the help of research economist Joseph C. Von Nessen.

The 2020 S.C. Logistics Economic Impact Study (.pdf) examines the overall economic ripple effect of the logistics sector in the Palmetto State. Specifically, the data looked at overall impact, employee wages, employment growth and ways the sector was changing in terms of technology and innovation, compared with 2017.

Employment in the logistics sector has increased by 22.6% during over that time, going from more than 113,000 workers to more than 139,000. These include jobs inside existing businesses that rely on internal logistics service and outside providers that help companies move goods and raw materials to their customers.

Susie Shannon, president and CEO of the S.C. Council on Competitiveness, said logistics has always been an important part of the state's economy.

“2020 has highlighted how vital it is to our daily lives that we manage the start-to-finish process of how we make, move, and deliver the products we want. From homebuilding supplies and automobiles to medicines and groceries, logistics touches every product, in every business, every day,” Shannon said in a news release. “Our success as one of the nation’s top advanced manufacturing states would be impossible without a strong logistics sector.”

Von Nessen’s research also found that the logistics sector provides some of the highest wages in South Carolina, with an average annual salary of $76,592 for employees providing internal logistics services for a company. By comparison, the average annual salary for all jobs in the state is just over $45,000, making logistics salaries almost 70% higher, the study found.

Taylor Jackson, director of S.C. Logistics for the Council on Competitiveness, said the council was encouraged by the trends in the data after seeing the results of the study.

“The results are not only a clear indication of the hard work and leadership of our logistics firms, but they also highlight the importance of developing the next generation of our technically skilled logistics workforce,” Jackson said.

Review the entire 2020 S.C. Logistics Economic Impact Study at the S.C. Council on Competitiveness website.