Artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating across ports and terminals, but only 4% of respondents can demonstrate measurable earnings gains from the technology, according to a new study by Boston Consulting Group and the Terminal Industry Committee 4.0.
The October 20 study surveyed 103 experts across five continents in August 2026 and examined 43 AI and generative AI use cases among terminal operators, port authorities, container liners and technology and equipment vendors.
Some 44% of respondents had moved beyond early testing and were scaling AI or had progressed further, while only 11% systematically measured its contribution to efficiency or margins.
Larger businesses were further ahead. Among companies with more than $8bn in annual revenue, 56% were scaling AI or beyond, compared with 32% of companies with revenue below $1bn.
Unclear return on investment was the biggest barrier to faster deployment, cited by 41% of respondents. Data quality followed at 32%, systems integration at 30%, and implementation cost and execution uncertainty at 28% each.
Freight forwarders were the strongest source of demand for AI-enabled services at 61%, followed by third-party logistics providers at 58%, container liners at 52% and port authorities at 35%.
Cost reduction and efficiency were the main adoption drivers at 69%, ahead of competitive pressure at 47%. Regulation accounted for 1%.
Operational efficiency was cited as a realised or expected benefit by 74% of respondents, faster decision-making by 44%, cost reduction by 41% and improved customer experience by 18%.
Only 2% reported no planned AI spending. Hiring and training AI specialists led investment plans at 59%, followed by research and development at 55% and adding AI modules to existing systems at 47%.
Half of respondents expect AI to reshape existing jobs through reskilling or redeployment, while 13% expect new roles and 31% expect lower workforce demand. Among C-suite respondents, 14% expected headcount reductions, compared with 34% of other respondents.
The study was authored by David Parlongue, Johannes Distler, James Reynolds, Max Mühlemeyer, Norbert Klettner, Boris Wenzel and Dorota Korenkiewicz. Parlongue, Distler, Reynolds, Mühlemeyer and Korenkiewicz are with BCG, while Klettner is TIC4.0 vice-president and Wenzel is its founder and president.
Boston Consulting Group, founded in 1963, is a management consulting firm with about 33,500 employees and offices in more than 100 cities across more than 50 countries.
TIC4.0 is a Brussels-based international non-profit association established in 2019. It represents more than 70 companies and develops common terminology, data models and digital standards for cargo-handling operations.
