AI Data Center Demand to TRIPLE by 2030 | GXO CEO on Logistics Impact

GXO Logistics CEO Patrick Kelleher reveals the immense growth in AI data center demand, predicting capacity will triple by 2030. Discover how this surge, along with warehouse robotics and redomestication, is reshaping the global supply chain and creating new opportunities for logistics providers. Kelleher shares GXO’s strategy for tackling these trends, including advanced automation and strategic partnerships.

Data center capacity will triple by 2030, and GXO Logistics is positioning its supply chain services to capture that demand well into the next decade, according to Patrick Kelleher, CEO of the $13 billion contract logistics company. Kelleher, speaking on FreightWaves Today, said GXO’s data center business — which covers both the forward build and the maintenance and sustainment of facilities — is already seeing “substantially accelerated growth” and he expects the momentum to continue through at least 2027.

The sustainability of that demand is a question freight professionals are watching closely, given ongoing debate about power constraints and the risk of overbuilding. Kelleher cited Nvidia’s half-trillion-dollar investment commitment as evidence that capital continues to flow into the sector. “I don’t see the demand for data center capacity diminishing even into 2030, 2035,” he said. GXO has developed an offsite rack assembly and wiring process — moving that work out of the cramped data center floor into a production-line environment — that allows it to stand up facilities in as little as 30 days and build for multiple data centers out of a single facility.

“I subscribe to the statistics that are out there that data center capacity is going to triple by 2030. I believe that because if I look at GXO as just a small $13 billion revenue organization that is part of a bigger economy, our focus on AI and the application of AI in our business is one of our top priorities, and I only see it accelerating as we go forward.” — Patrick Kelleher, CEO, GXO Logistics

On robotics, Kelleher said GXO has completed more than 45 humanoid pilots, with another launching in Europe in the second half of this year. He projected that the cost of a humanoid unit will be cut in half within two years, while operating costs — currently running $10 to $15 per hour — should fall below $10 per hour over the same timeframe. Kelleher put total operating costs at $15 to $20 per hour within two years, a threshold he said is necessary to achieve return on investment. GXO currently has humanoids successfully picking cosmetics and apparel. Power consumption, he added, has not been a limiting factor; 40% of GXO’s warehouses already carry high robotics fit-outs, and battery technology improvements are keeping energy demand manageable.

Kelleher also pointed to aerospace and defense as a high-growth vertical. He formed a defense advisory board in February, staffed with former senior military officials from the supply chain side, and announced a UK partnership — branded Taurus — with Amentum and Maersk to pursue contracts with the British government. Kelleher confirmed GXO is targeting a total addressable market tied to the U.S. defense bill that has been cited at $1.5 trillion. “That’s the number we use,” he said. “And that’s a good TAM.”

On the consumer side, Kelleher said GXO’s retail, CPG, and e-commerce verticals have been “relatively flat on volume” in aggregate but that the company expects to be “at or better than last year” for peak season based on current customer behavior. He also flagged reindustrialization as a genuine shift reshaping warehouse location strategy: as manufacturers move production onshore, logical warehouse locations are migrating away from coastal ports toward interior markets. Kelleher specifically named Texas, Georgia, Florida, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Columbus, Ohio as markets seeing accelerated activity, with intermodal gaining relevance as raw materials — rather than finished goods — increasingly move through West Coast ports.

Life sciences rounded out GXO’s positive demand picture, with Kelleher characterizing volume there as “very solid.” Taken together, he said, the company has “a really positive outlook to the end of the year” across its industry verticals.

• GXO CEO Patrick Kelleher says data center capacity will triple by 2030, with company revenue from build, maintenance, and sustainment work expected to grow well into 2027.
• Humanoid robot operating costs are projected to fall from $10–$15 per hour today to sub-$10 within two years, with total costs reaching $15–$20 per hour over the same period after more than 45 completed pilots.
• Reindustrialization is shifting warehouse demand inland, with Texas, Georgia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Columbus, Ohio identified as the fastest-growing markets.

This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.