A new number 1 at the top of this year's ranking of the world's 50 largest freight companies

Despite the slowdown in international trade, disruptions due to geopolitical conflicts and high inflation, most of the world's leading transport and logistics providers continued to expand their businesses last year, including a new name at the top of WK Transport-Logistics' 2023 list of the world's 50 best freight companies.

This annual ranking, produced in cooperation with SJ Consulting Group, offers a fresh look at the biggest players in freight movement and cargo handling across all geographies and modes of transport, including truck, rail, ocean, air and parcel, as well as non-commercial transport. asset-based third-party logistics providers.

Companies in the Top 50 are ranked according to their 2022 sales from freight and logistics operations.

The most significant change to this year's list is the decision to include online retail titan Amazon.com Inc. whose fulfillment and logistics operations debut at #1.

Over the years, Amazon has built up a vast third-party logistics operation that feeds its e-commerce network and even supports businesses that don't sell via Amazon.com.

Amazon provides 3PL services through two of its business units, Fulfilment by Amazon and Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment. Fulfilment by Amazon manages e-commerce fulfillment for orders placed on Amazon.com, while MCF offers fulfillment for sales channels outside Amazon.

In its 2022 annual report, Amazon recorded $117.7 billion in net sales from its third-party seller services, representing almost 23% of the company's total sales. Amazon aside, familiar names continue to dominate the top of the list.

Package delivery and logistics giants UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. rank 2nd and 3rd respectively. UPS exceeded $100 billion in sales for the first time in 2022, while FedEx was not far behind at $90 billion.

Number 4 is German parcel and warehousing giant DHL Group, with sales of $87 billion.

In fifth place, Denmark-based Maersk is the leading ocean carrier on the list, with revenues of $80 billion, up 32% on 2021. Overall, ocean carriers saw the best year-on-year revenue growth among the different modes of transport. while supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic eased last year.

Next comes the US Postal Service at No. 6, with sales of $78.5 billion, followed by two ocean carriers, France's CMA CGM and China's Cosco Shipping Group, at Nos. 7 and 8. Swiss forwarder Kuehne + Nagel International and Chinese parcel delivery company SF Express round out the top 10.

Russian Railways is a major freight provider that is absent from this year's Top 50. The provider of freight and passenger rail services ranked 14th a year ago, but was dropped due to sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.

Another notable change in this year's list is the consolidation of three major Japanese shipping companies under Ocean Network Express at No. 16. The holding company, established in 2017, includes the operations of NYK Group, Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K Line), which had been listed separately in previous editions of the Top 50.

Other companies joining or rejoining the Top 50 this year include: No. 21 Nippon Express, a Japan-based parcel delivery and logistics provider; No. 41 Toll Group, an Australian-based freight forwarder and logistics provider; contract logistics provider Rhenus Group at No. 47 and Netherlands-based parcel delivery company GLS Group at No. 48.

Many of North America's largest trucking and logistics companies are among the world's largest freight forwarders.

Freight brokerage giant CH Robinson ranks 19th on the list with over $23 billion in revenues in 2022, closely followed by Seattle-based freight forwarder Expeditors International at 23rd with $17 billion in revenues.

Intermodal and trucking company JB Hunt Transport Services ranks 27th, with 2022 sales of $14.8 billion. Another major trucking company on the list is less-than-truckload carrier XPO, at #34. Registering at No. 43 is Landstar System, which operates via its network of independent owner-operators and freight brokerage agents.

Truckload carrier Knight-Swift Transportation ranks #44 on the list, followed by Canadian trucking group TFI International at #45. The list is rounded out by truckload supplier Schneider at No. 49 and LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line at No. 50.

North American freight railways also rank among the world's largest transportation providers. BNSF Railway ranks 17th, followed by Union Pacific Railroad at 18th, CSX Corp. at 26th, Canadian National at 31st and Norfolk Southern at 32nd.

Another major rail supplier to watch is Canadian Pacific Kansas City, formed in April 2023 through the merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern. As a separate entity, Canadian Pacific would have qualified for this year's list in 47th place based on its 2022 revenues.

Of the 50 largest companies, 16 are headquartered in the USA, more than in any other country, followed by China, Germany and Japan with five each.

This year's list includes 14 companies that are mainly third-party logistics providers, as well as 11 ocean carriers, 10 parcel delivery companies, nine freight rail providers and six trucking companies.

Les informations sur les revenus proviennent des rapports et des estimations de l’entreprise réalisés par SJ Consulting Group pour les services de transport de marchandises. Tous les chiffres de revenus sont indiqués en dollars américains. Les conversions de devises sont basées sur le taux de change moyen de 2022.

Walid Khejda