Nowadays, the logistics area is receiving more attention due to its significant influence on any company´s results. It is common that companies with a developed internal logistics activities start to analyze the feasibility of third-party logistics. However, all these analyses include large number of internal and external factors. It is important to be mentioned that some of these factors are out of company´s control. The primary objectives are identification of actual logistic situation in the State of Rio de Janeiro and discovery of the factors that facilitate or make difficult its logistic development. This master thesis consists of the three following parts: a) A detailed theoretical survey presenting logistics systems and its functions, as well as some other factors that determine its performance and development. Moreover, it shows the type of companies that participate in the logistics market. b) More emphasis is given to third-party logistics and, also, fourth-party logistics as new trends. An important aim of this thesis is to try to clarify what each one represents. c) In the last part of the thesis, as the result of an empirical survey performed on the logistics market of the State of Rio de Janeiro, some trends and problems are shown that obstruct a better performance of the logistics market.