2019 Top 50 U.S. & Global Third-Party Logistics Providers

The inexorable advance of Amazon is creating new challenges for logistics managers who must meet heightened shipper expectations while navigating today’s complex third-party logistics, 3PL marketplace.

The inexorable advance of Amazon is creating new challenges for logistics managers who must meet heightened shipper expectations while navigating today’s complex third-party logistics, 3PL marketplace.

“Amazonization” Driving Change Across the Board

In both the domestic and global front, the consolidation trend in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry remains a gathering storm - with record merger and acquisition activity being reported across all sectors.

In fact, many of the more notable deals took place late last year as more 3PLs aim to keep pace with the continued “Amazonization” of the global market.

For example, MNX acquired Network Global Logistics, creating a market leader in time-critical logistics, while Penske bought Old Dominion Truck Leasing, expanding its core leasing business.

The market also saw RoadOne buy First Coast Logistics, bolstering its drayage network as well as Transportation Insight acquiring Nolan Transportation Group in an effort to double down on its truck brokerage and freight management.

Evan Armstrong, president of the consultancy Armstrong & Associates

“2019 3PL mergers and acquisitions doesn't look like it’s slowing down – there is a lot of money on the sidelines looking for deals to happen”Evan Armstrong, president, Armstrong & Associates

And finally, Lineage bought a string of cold storage companies including Service Cold Storage in a bid to challenge Americold.

According to Benjamin Gordon, managing partner at Cambridge Capital and BG Strategic Advisors (BGSA), there’s also the geographic 3PL expansion designed to speed up delivery times.

“Within the global context, it’s important to observe that DSC Logistics was sold to South Korea’s CJ Logistics,” he says. “We also witnessed CFI, formerly Con-Way Freight acquiring Optimal Freight, resulting in a truckload and asset-based 3PL expansion to improve cross-border trade in North America.”

In other global arenas, FedEx teamed up with Wirecard, providing payment processing and retail outlets in India and Germany.

Meanwhile, AIT bought ConneXion World Cargo, bringing the UK-based forwarder into their fold. Panalpina added Skyservices in South Africa, with a focus on perishables, while Kerry Logistics went to Italy to buy Saga Italia, a specialist in oil and gas freight forwarding. Meanwhile, Kuehne + Nagel purchased Panatlantic Logistics in Ecuador.

Gordon maintains that shippers should also consider the changes made in other ground-based 3PL service sectors.

“These came about as a consequence of some obvious synergies,” he says. “BNSF bought Unlimited Freight, adding flatbed capabilities. Pilot purchased Manna, gaining a last-mile foothold in furniture. Ryder bought MXD, becoming the No. 2 player in big and bulky e-commerce, while the Hub Group bought CaseStack, combining intermodal logistics with asset-light warehousing.”

Meanwhile, other global merger and acquisition deals were technology-driven, says Gordon, who points to Project44 acquiring GateHouse, a Denmark-based business with European visibility data. Meanwhile, Australia-based WiseTech bought a string of U.S.-based customs brokerage technology companies.

Finally, there are the deals involving “logistics plus technology” to consider, says Gordon. “Yusen Logistics added ILG, gaining an e-commerce warehousing platform with more than 700 clients worldwide,” he says, “and FedEx bought UK-based P2P Mailing, providing e-commerce transportation solutions, and expanding FedEx’s cross-border capabilities.”

Armstrong & Associates Top 50 U.S. Third-Party Logistics Providers (3PLs)

2018 Rank

Third-party Logistics Provider (3PL)

2018 Gross Logistics Revenue (USD Millions)*

01

C.H. Robinson

16,631

02

XPO Logistics

10,850

03

UPS Supply Chain Solutions

9,814

04

J.B. Hunt (JBI, DCS & ICS)

8,214

05

Expeditors

8,138

06

Kuehne + Nagel (Americas)

6,594

07

DHL Supply Chain North America

4,178

08

Coyote Logistics

4,000

09

Ryder Supply Chain Solutions

3,731

10

Hub Group

3,684

11

Total Quality Logistics

3,643

12

FedEx Logistics

3,170

13

DB Schenker (Americas)

3,025

14

Burris Logistics

3,022

15

Transplace - Featured SC24/7 Sponsor

2,886

16

Schneider Logistics & Dedicated

2,711

17

Panalpina (Americas)

2,596

18

Landstar - Featured SC24/7 Sponsor

2,542

19

Echo Global Logistics

2,440

20

CEVA Logistics (Americas)

2,427

21

DSV (Americas)

2,358

22

Penske Logistics

2,300

23

Transportation Insight

2,290

24

GEODIS North America

2,139

25

NFI

2,000

26

Worldwide Express/Unishippers

1,650

27

Americold

1,595

28

BDP International

1,552

29

Knight-Swift Transportation

1,550

30

Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services

1,500

31

Werner Enterprises Dedicated & Logistics

1,465

32

GlobalTranz Enterprises

1,384

33

OIA Global

1,373

34

MODE Transportation

1,255

35

syncreon

1,165

36

Universal Logistics Holdings

1,148

37

SunteckTTS

1,110

38

Radial

1,082

39

APL Logistics (Americas)

1,075

40

TransGroup Global Logistics

1,020

41

Odyssey Logistics & Technology

1,018

42

Lineage Logistics

1,000

43

Ruan

957

44

Crane Worldwide Logistics

916

45

Agility (Americas)

886

46

Radiant Logistics

842

47

Nolan Transportation Group

811

48

U.S. Xpress

809

49

Cardinal Logistics Management

805

50

Nippon Express (Americas)

800

*Revenues are company reported or Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates and have been converted to US$ using the average annual exchange rate in order to make non-currency related growth comparisons.
Copyright © 2019 Armstrong & Associates, Inc.


Armstrong & Associates Top 50 Global Third-Party Logistics Providers (3PLs)

2018 Rank

Third-party Logistics Provider (3PL)

2018 Gross Logistics Revenue (USD Millions)*

01

DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding

28,120

02

Kuehne + Nagel

25,320

03

DB Schenker

19,968

04

Nippon Express

18,781

05

C.H. Robinson

16,631

06

DSV

12,411

07

XPO Logistics

10,850

08

Sinotrans

10,174

09

UPS Supply Chain Solutions

9,814

10

J.B. Hunt (JBI, DCS & ICS)

8,214

11

Expeditors

8,138

12

DACHSER

7,602

13

CEVA Logistics

7,356

14

GEODIS

6,645

15

Hitachi Transport System

6,283

16

Panalpina

6,156

17

Damco/Maersk Logistics

6,082

18

Toll Group

5,980

19

CJ Logistics

5,618

20

Bolloré Logistics

5,415

21

GEFCO

5,035

22

Kerry Logistics

4,875

23

Yusen Logistics/NYK Logistics

4,820

24

Kintetsu World Express

4,752

25

Agility

4,400

26

Coyote Logistics

4,000

27

Imperial Logistics

3,852

28

Ryder Supply Chain Solutions

3,731

29

Hub Group

3,684

30

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

3,646

31

Total Quality Logistics

3,643

32

FedEx Logistics

3,170

33

Burris Logistics

3,022

34

Transplace - Featured SC24/7 Sponsor

2,886

35

Schneider Logistics & Dedicated

2,711

36

Sankyu

2,639

37

Landstar - Featured SC24/7 Sponsor

2,542

38

Echo Global Logistics

2,440

39

Penske Logistics

2,300

40

Transportation Insight

2,290

41

Mainfreight

2,110

42

NFI

2,000

43

Groupe CAT

1,990

44

Fiege Logistik

1,815

45

APL Logistics

1,730

46

ID Logistics Group

1,651

47

Worldwide Express/Unishippers

1,650

48

Americold

1,595

49

BDP International

1,552

50

Knight-Swift Transportation

1,550

*Revenues are company reported or Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates and have been converted to US$ using the average annual exchange rate in order to make non-currency related growth comparisons.
Copyright © 2019 Armstrong & Associates, Inc.


The Amazon Conundrum

The phenomenon of “Amazonization” refers to the wholesale disruption occurring across logistics and e-commerce platforms that was similar to the “Walmartization” that occurred across North America in the 1990s and early 2000s. Over the past 19 years, Amazon has more than quintupled in value.

Analysts for SJ Consulting Group, a Pittsburgh based research, and consulting firm, reckons that even though Amazon does not call itself a 3PL, it’s driving unprecedented change within the industry. Like Armstrong, the analysts at SJ believe that Amazon’s revenue model stemming from logistics services is “opaque.”

Mark D’Amico, SJ Consulting’s senior analyst, says that Amazon’s one-day shipping announcement made in April may have “a counterintuitive consequence” for some 3PL competitors, as it could create opportunities for them to grow in a market that was long stagnant. “In short, Amazon’s innovation and the customer expectations it drives are making ultimate success a question of who adapts quickest,” he adds.

Like Armstrong, D’Amico believes that managing data and investing in fulfillment solutions is no longer an option for 3PLs. “It’s a ‘do or die’ situation now,” he says. “Digitization is for real.”

Trusting Truckers is Key, says the Transportation Intermediaries Association

According to a recent white paper produced by Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), being a “shipper of choice” remains one of the most tired clichés in the current third-party logistics (3PL) market vernacular.

While hardly dismissing the value of having a special shipper relationship, the authors of “Creating a Win-Win-Win Business Relationship” maintain that 3PLs must nurture better partnerships with their motor carrier providers as well.

The expectations of shippers, 3PLs and carriers have traditionally moved in just one direction, states the TIA study. Results show that, in 2018, directional changes - made by both shippers and carriers - were made due to an industry-wide driver shortage and compliance with the electronic logging device (ELDs) rule. Increasingly, these factors changed the dialogue for all parties to meet driver expectations and to make the most of the 660 minutes of driving availability, the authors add.

Chris Burroughs, senior director of government affairs for the TIA, makes many of the same observations. He’s especially adamant about ongoing collaboration in the U.S. “On the domestic front, TIA has seen a fundamental shift in the past 12 months, as 3PLs continue to strive to provide exemplary customer service not only for shippers, but for their motor carriers as well,” he says.

“The customer today is buying drivers’ hours,” says Jim Ward, president and chief executive of D.M. Bowman, a full-service trucking and logistics provider based in Williamsport, Md. “We need to work with customers to best utilize time for the driving associate.”

In TIA’s “Win-Win” study, logistics managers reiterated the importance of trust, communication, and loyalty by saying that those are the factors making it possible to solve today’s challenges - even more so than technology in many instances.

“You still need the human interface,” says J.J. Jones, chief supply chain officer of Monin Americas, a manufacturer of food and beverage flavorings with headquarters in Clearwater, Fla. “You need to talk to get things done.”

Download the White Paper: Creating a Win-Win-Win Business Relationship

 

Top 3PL White Papers

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The Landstar Safety Program
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Omni-Channel Logistics Leaders: 5 Key Insights to Improve Inventory Performance 
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Demystifying an Omni-channel World
Managing omni-channel order fulfillment, while establishing a more efficient distribution and transportation network strategy. Download Now!


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Ecommerce Delivery – What Do Your Customers Want?
This paper includes 3 real delivery scenarios and the supply chain and logistics needs, case studies, of London's Portobello Road MOU company, the iconic Lulu brand, and Escalade Sports. Download Now!


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The Business Case for Transportation Management
This whitepaper examines how a transportation management system (TMS) can help companies – from small-to-midsized businesses to large enterprises – reduce risk, improve operational efficiency and drive meaningful change within their organization. Download Now!


More Resources  on Third-Party Logistics

About the Author

Patrick Burnson's avatar
Patrick Burnson
Mr. Burnson is a widely-published writer and editor specializing in international trade, global logistics, and supply chain management. He is based in San Francisco, where he provides a Pacific Rim perspective on industry trends and forecasts.
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