It was the “year of the ocean carrier” as liner operators saw 2021 revenue results that were more than double those of other top 50 transportation providers.
Top 50 Global Transportation Providers
Top 50 Global Transportation Providers
The 50 top transportation companies, measured by annual worldwide revenue, are active in a cross-section of activities, including parcel delivery (topped by UPS, FedEx, DHL), rail (led by China Railway, Russian Railways, BNSF, Union Pacific), ocean freight (topped by Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping, CMA CGM, NYK Group), and logistics services (topped by DB Schenker, Kuehne + Nagel, XPO Logistics, Nippon Express, C.H. Robinson). In a recent study, those 50 firms accounted for about $750 billion in aggregate revenue.
Press Releases
News & Analysis
29 Mar 2022
Greater network efficiency and profits will be priorities for new FedEx leadership as e-commerce reshapes global markets.
17 Dec 2021
FedEx Freight handled higher freight volumes and helped with the delivery of FedEx Ground packages this fall, relying on price hikes and “judicious” network management.
19 Nov 2021
Teamsters rank-and-file members have elected critics of outgoing General President James P. Hoffa to lead the union in a more militant direction.
14 Apr 2021
Four parcel carriers were among the five fastest-growing trucking companies in 2020, thanks to a 44 percent increase in e-commerce spending, SJ Consulting Group data shows.
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.
21 Oct 2020
Union Pacific Railroad will raise the surcharge on small shippers to $1,000 on excess contract cargo beginning Oct. 25, a signal that rail-owned containers remain in short supply on the West Coast.
23 Sep 2020
Domestic intermodal volumes already elevated compared with a year ago and there are signs that international intermodal is on the upswing too.
18 Sep 2020
As container volume has picked up, trucking and logistics executives say that CSX’s domestic intermodal service has become unreliable in two key southeast US rail ramps.
11 Sep 2020
The surge in domestic intermodal has spread from Los Angeles to Oakland-Lathrop and Union Pacific will raise surcharges on shippers to ensure equipment is available for core customers.
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.
06 Aug 2020
Intermodal volume, rates, and savings have been on a rollercoaster this year, surging this summer to levels higher than a year ago after steep declines this spring during the height of the pandemic.
04 Aug 2020
In expanding the surcharge to all shippers, UP cited “a significant increase in demand for container capacity across the system” that is expected to “increase further in the coming weeks.”
24 Jul 2020
Union Pacific Railroad blames volatile swings in volume for congestion in Los Angeles in June, but intermodal marketing companies say it remains difficult to find space on trains because of a surge in e-commerce business.
23 Jul 2020
After wild swings in intermodal volume in the second quarter, CSX Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad are cautiously optimistic about peak season volumes, while realizing pandemic disruptions are lurking.
07 Jul 2020
Intermodal shippers are increasingly putting pressure on 3PLs to waive container fees as a precondition for business amid the coronavirus-linked recession.
25 Jun 2020
Spot rates have jumped more than 40 percent in the last four weeks for shippers using rail-owned boxes out of Los Angeles due to an equipment shortage in Southern California unseen since 2018.
23 Jun 2020
BNSF Railway has unveiled a five-day per week train service between Seattle and CSX’s Ohio hub about an hour south of Toledo.
09 Jun 2020
Intermodal is not seeing the same rebound in demand as trucking since the economic shutdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and research firm FTR Associates does not believe containerized rail volume will fully recover to 2019 levels until sometime in 2021.
21 May 2020
Domestic intermodal volume in April suffered its worst month in eight years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with intermodal marketing companies saying May might end as poorly, if not worse.
11 May 2020
A refrigerated rail service sold by Union Pacific Railroad to shippers has shut down amid the COVID-19 downturn in volumes and competition from rival BNSF Railway and other large IMCs.
08 May 2020
JOC’s Spot Intermodal Savings Index hit an 14-month low in a preliminary April reading, the first snapshot of how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the math on how much money intermodal can save a shipper.
28 Apr 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has flipped UPS’s business, with nearly 70 percent of package volume now residential. That means more mileage, more stops, and more costs.
16 Apr 2020
XPO Logistics CEO Bradley S. Jacobs believes the US and global economies will recover in “fits and starts” in the second half of 2020, and supply chains will become more resilient.
15 Apr 2020
J.B. Hunt Transport Services acknowledges a rough second quarter is ahead, while there’s much unknown about how severe the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on business conditions will be.
09 Apr 2020
Intermodal volume last week was the weakest in a nearly a decade as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc on the railroads, which an industry analyst believes could cost Class I railroads $9 billion dollars.
19 Mar 2020
The 10-year US economic expansion is over, killed by the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), and the recovery will be slow, IHS Markit chief economist Nariman Behravesh warns.
19 Mar 2020
The response to the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is dominating business at FedEx, as global air and domestic ground supply needs swing and the firm looks to prioritize test kits and relief supplies.
30 Jan 2020
As its US network gets faster and more automated and e-commerce demand keeps growing, UPS is taking aim at small to mid-sized businesses in 2020.
18 Dec 2019
Changes in package delivery market are leading FedEx to rethink its air express and ground strategies, as it struggles with a slowdown in global trade.
13 Dec 2019
A number of ocean carriers are adjusting their detention and demurrage fees in the next 30 days, causing shippers to pay more for these penalties being reviewed by the Federal Maritime Commission.
24 Oct 2019
Forty-seven of the top 50 global transportation providers saw revenues rise in 2018, benefitting from a strong global economic growth and growing anticipation of reciprocal tariffs between the United States and China.
17 Oct 2019
CSX Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad reported weak intermodal volume for the third quarter, but insisted their networks are lean, efficient, and ready to fully capitalize when the market rebounds.
10 Oct 2019
A bigger footprint in El Paso, Texas, will help the freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL reach more shippers in the US and Mexico.
03 Oct 2019
Intermodal volumes did not recover in the third quarter, prompting questions of what railroads can do to win back shippers, other than waiting for a recovery in trucking.
23 May 2019
The largest US logistics provider is expanding its over-the-road service in Europe through an acquisition, its second purchase in Europe this year.
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Race to the top heats up for global transportation companies
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