Product No.: 25145
Date Published: 03/2025
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As highlighted in Growing Greater Philadelphia, advancements in digital tools and technologies have the capacity to alter where and how we work (telework), as well as how we produce and distribute goods and services (automation). Digitalization and its impacts manifest differently across industries and occupations. This presentation examines the potential impact of digitalization in the Transportation and Warehousing industry, which has a relatively low capacity for telework and a relatively high risk of automation, and which was the fastest growing industry in recent years in Greater Philadelphia. This trajectory is expected to continue, with projected growth concentrated in subsectors with the lowest relative wages, lower telework capacities, and higher automation risk, suggesting an uncertain future for a rapidly growing workforce.
The analysis examines more granular occupational shifts and finds that Transportation and Warehousing’s largest occupations are manual jobs that are increasingly being performed by robotics and automated systems. Furthermore, the occupations that will advance the implementation of digital tools and technologies into the industry are projected to grow rapidly. To address the workforce implications of digitalization, it will be critical to provide reskilling and upskilling opportunities for a displaced workforce, focus on quality of life to retain remote workers, and invest in holistic infrastructure updates.
Geographic Area Covered: Nine-county Greater Philadelphia region
Key Words: transportation, warehousing, workforce, economy, economic development, automation, telework, remote work, digital, digitalization, digital divide, CEDS, employment, growth, skills, job training, reskilling, upskilling, industry, projected growth, talent retention, quality of life, infrastructure
Staff Contact(s)
- Maggie Nemetz (mnemetz@dvrpc.org)
- Spencer Gober AICP (sgober@dvrpc.org)
Project Team
- Maggie Nemetz Economic Development Planner
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