As shippers increasingly turn to – or are forced to – the spot market for truck capacity, automation will identify opportunities to lower costs, according to C.H. Robinson Worldwide.
Top 50 3PLs
Top 50 3PLs
Buoyed by the growth of the US domestic transportation management, the revenue of the 50 largest logistics companies increased 10.3 percent to $253 billion in 2017, according to Pittsburgh-based reseach and consulting firm SJ Consultng — good for a 10.2 percent growth rate. Further given the streghening global economy in late 2017/early 2018, analysts expect 2018 to be another year of substantial growth.
Buzz word / key phrase for 2018: "Adapt or else."
Beyond that, the buzz words / key phrase for the sector is, “Adapt or else.” Consulting firm and anayst Armstrong & Associates noted that the rapid expansion of e-commerce will continue in 2018, as will the focus on supply chain visibility. Also, complete, integrated services are becoming paramount fo 3PLs, which are working to establish visibility in into all locations. “Simultaneously, from the customer side there’s is a need to be timely. They are placing much more emphasis on proper timing,” Armstrong said, as is integrating all services so that customers have one contact person. That’s the future, Armstrong noted.
Top 50 3PLs 2018 Ranking
Top 50 3PLs 2017 Ranking
Press Releases
News & Analysis
10 Sep 2021
The $1.3 billion acquisition of Echo Global Logistics by a private equity company will fuel an automation drive at the third-party logistics provider as shippers dealing with disruption demand more sophisticated technology.
22 Jul 2021
The acquisition of third-party logistics provider Transplace will transform Uber Freight, providing greater access to shippers, as it builds a “fully-scaled” logistics platform.
15 Jul 2021
Digital broker Uber Freight is expanding its truckload platform to encompass LTL, as strapped US shippers turn to LTL carriers and 3PLs such as BlueGrace for capacity.
17 Jun 2021
The e-commerce boom means more vehicles moving more goods, and potentially emitting more pollutants, but DHL also sees opportunities to advance sustainability goals on land, sea, and in the air as e-commerce expands.
14 Jun 2021
The planned merger of GlobalTranz and Worldwide Express is being driven by extreme US freight market conditions that will push shippers toward third-party logistics providers.
11 Jun 2021
The planned merger of GlobalTranz and Worldwide Express, creating the fourth-largest freight brokerage in North America, allows the third-party logistics providers to pool parcel, less-than-truckload, and truckload capabilities in tight surface capacity market.
02 Jun 2021
The Coyote Curve truckload market forecast calls for a new spot pricing peak in the third quarter, but the pricing cycle may not turn downward until 2022.
01 Jun 2021
The largest US truckload operator, Knight-Swift, acquired non-asset 3PL UTXL to gain access to additional trucks and drivers, as well as new logistics services.
06 May 2021
The JOC Intermodal Savings Index hit a new record in Q1, but rising spot intermodal rates and surcharges could reduce savings in Q2.
28 Apr 2021
Freight broker and forwarder C.H. Robinson is growing LTL volume "faster than the marketplace” as US shippers scramble to find available capacity for shipments.
23 Apr 2021
Third-party logistics and software firms such as C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Blume Global are broadening the use of technology to drive emissions out of supply chains, increasingly for smaller customers as well as global corporations.
16 Apr 2021
J.B. Hunt will be adding 12,000 new containers in 2021, upping its original order announced in January based on increased shipper demand for intermodal service.
12 Apr 2021
Domestic intermodal shippers in California will be subject to a surcharge of $1,000 to $1,500 on excess contract cargo beginning Apr. 25, the first time Union Pacific has instituted such a peak-season fee before the summer.
08 Apr 2021
Shippers can save more money than ever before on intermodal, if they could find equipment and draymen to move their cargo to and from rail terminals amid scarce supply of both.
05 Apr 2021
Third-party logistics industry had a banner 2020, with double-digit revenue growth, according to SJ Consulting.
02 Mar 2021
Knight Swift CEO Dave Jackson tells JOC’s virtual TPM21 conference that trailer pools, agility, and long-term thinking is the way carriers and shippers can reduce the wild swings seen in trucking rates since 2017.
16 Feb 2021
Union Pacific Railroad is shutting down virtually all business across its intermodal network for 72 hours because of snow and ice in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and even as far south as Texas.
16 Feb 2021
A growing gap between inventory and sales in many US business sectors is projected to drive replenishment, expedited shipping, and high levels of imports for months to come.
03 Feb 2021
Shippers may see intermodal savings evaporate in the first quarter if rail contracts rise more than 10 percent and spot truck rates continue to cool off and pressure truck contracts.
03 Feb 2021
Fewer trucking companies are responding to shipper bids, as contract truckload pricing rises by high single-digit percentage rates, Transplace executives said Tuesday.
02 Feb 2021
A significant number of truckload shippers delayed annual bids with the largest US truck freight broker in the fourth quarter to avoid spiking contract rates.
26 Jan 2021
Additional acquisitions will fuel growth for both XPO’s transportation and contract logistics businesses, soon to be separate companies, chairman and CEO Bradley S. Jacobs said.
29 Dec 2020
Third-party logistics provider GlobalTranz saw a strong increase in demand for managed transportation service in 2020 and expects the outsourcing trend to continue as supply chain disruption spills into 2021.
18 Dec 2020
There’s debate about how much of a knock-on effect COVID-19 vaccine distribution could have on other types of cargoes, but US shippers are cautioned to plan for some disruption.
16 Dec 2020
BNSF Railway is limiting the amount of containers its partners can bring into a terminal in Southern California and on certain Chicago lanes due to volumes that usually tail off after Thanksgiving but have stayed elevated this year.
14 Dec 2020
Norfolk Southern has shut the gates on containers and trailers entering its 63rd Street terminal in Chicago to five Northeast locations due to a crush of volume, likely sending the loads to full truckload.
07 Dec 2020
A tighter focus on transportation and technology following a corporate split will improve the service and experience XPO offers to shippers globally, the company and transportation analysts say
07 Dec 2020
Intermodal executives want to address the chronic congestion issues in 2020 with railroads and BCOs, but universally accepted solutions are hard to come by.
02 Dec 2020
XPO Logistics will be spun off into two separate businesses, one solely focused on US transportation and the other focusing on US and European contract logistics.
05 Nov 2020
Rebid freight now or wait for what may be a calmer first quarter? That’s the question US truck shippers face, Echo Global Logistics chairman and CEO Doug Waggoner says.
14 Oct 2020
The long run-up in spot market truckload rates and truck freight demand may be reaching its peak, but don’t expect a quick descent, speakers at the Transplace Shipper Symposium said Wednesday.
22 Sep 2020
A new service from C.H. Robinson could replace the annual truckload bidding process with a more dynamic approach to procuring trucks and increasing savings across networks of freight lanes.
01 Sep 2020
Third-party logistics provider Transplace looks to expand its shipper customer base through the acquisition of LeanCor, a supply-chain company focused on lean manufacturing.
27 Aug 2020
Shippers need quicker access to carrier, rate information as lanes, customers, and pricing shift under COVID-19, C.H. Robinson says.
12 Aug 2020
Despite optimism that BNSF Railway’s congestion may ease, intermodal marketing companies expect demand to be high and equipment dislocations to persist through October in California.
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