Publishing a List of the Largest Logistics Companies In
TT LOGISTICS 50 A Word From the Publisher ublishing a list of the largest logistics companies in services is the continuing global expansion of commerce. North America has been an eye-opening experi- Vicki O’Meara, president of U.S. Supply Chain Solutions at ence for me and, I think, for most readers of Ryder System, speaking at a logistics conference in Atlanta in TRANSPORT TOPICS. Though some long-familiar June, said manufacturers are turning to logistics experts to names are on the list, such as UPS and FedEx, help justify the enormous investments they are making Pmany logistics companies were not even in existence 25 abroad, a trend that is unlikely to change despite the rising years ago, when Congress passed the industry-changing cost of fuel. Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and ushered in the highly com- Ben Gordon, a consultant who specializes in valuation of petitive and technically advanced freight transportation sys- logistics companies, said $120 billion in private equity is on tem that we have today. the sidelines waiting to buy logistics companies. They are It’s not an exaggeration to say that many of attracted to the high rate of growth and the things that have changed about freight trans- relatively small share of business captured portation — rate competition, industry con- by even the largest logistics service solidation and intermodalism — in large providers. measure are because of the influence of “High growth and a fragmented industry third-party logistics companies on the way is a great environment for mergers and goods are transported. acquisitions,” he said.
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