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Only five rapid growth of e-commerce. years after serial investor Brad Jacobs launched Joining Radial on the Logistics 50 is Ingram Micro Commerce an audacious plan to consolidate what he saw as a & Fulfillment Solutions (No. 34), a subsidiary of electronics fragmented, inefficient industry, he has reached distributor Ingram Micro Inc. Both companies specialize in the summit, with XPO Logistics staking its claim processing orders for goods purchased online, a market that is Tas the largest third-party logistics company in North America. both driven by and challenged by the presence of Amazon.com. And it wasn’t even close. Other companies making their first appearance on the list this With net revenue topping $4.7 billion in 2016, XPO Logistics year include: easily moved past last year’s top-ranked company in the • Syncreon Holdings (No. 20), a company based in Auburn Transport Topics Logistics 50, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Hills, Michigan, that provides contract logistics services. which falls to No. 3. XPO also put more than a little distance • Black Horse Carriers (No. 37), of Carol Stream, Illinois, a between itself and No. 2, J.B. Hunt Transport Services. dedicated contract carrier specializing in food and beverage and Beginning with the purchase of a small U.S.-based publicly automotive parts. traded freight forwarder in 2011, Jacobs used a combination of Logistics companies provide a broad range of services, borrowed funds and money from investors to complete more including most prominently freight brokerage, warehousing, than two dozen targeted acquisitions. In 2013, he picked up dedicated contract carriage and air and ocean freight forwarding. 3PD Inc. to establish a pre-eminent position in the nascent Companies are ranked on the basis of net revenue, which is business of final-mile delivery. After that came New Breed total revenue minus the cost of purchased transportation. Net Logistics and Norbert Dentressangle S.A. to add warehousing revenue, which sometimes is called gross margin, represents the and distribution capabilities in the United States and Europe. money available to operate the business and, as such, is the best Jacobs capped off his buying spree with the purchase of Con- way to measure a firm’s overall size and capabilities. way Inc., the parent of Menlo Logistics and less-than-truckload The difference between net and gross revenue is most carrier Con-way Freight, in late 2015. All of these companies pronounced for firms involved in freight brokerage and previously were ranked in the Logistics 50. forwarding because actual transportation is provided by other While those acquisitions provided the fuel for XPO’s rapid entities. For companies that provide warehousing and dedicated ascent from No. 45 in 2014 to No. 12 in 2015 to No. 2 in 2016, contract carriage using their own assets, there is no difference that combination of top-flight logistics service providers also between net and gross revenue. proved to be more than the sum of its parts. That’s because Warehousing firms are ranked on the basis of total square being the largest wasn’t Jacobs’ sole objective. He also wanted feet of space in North America. Dedicated contract carriers are to create a company that did business differently, providing ranked on the number of power units provided for the exclusive a high-tech platform for shippers to access a wide range of use of shippers. Airfreight forwarders are ranked by total metric logistics services. tons, and ocean freight forwarders are ranked on container XPO’s rise to the top isn’t the only interesting change in this shipments measured in 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. ABOUT THE TOP 50 LIST The 2017 Top 50 Logistics Companies list is a joint project of Transport Topics and Armstrong & Associates Inc. Logistics is defined as the procurement of transportation for shippers and includes services such as freight brokerage, air and ocean freight forwarding, warehousing and distribution and dedicated contract carriage. Companies are ranked on the basis of actual or estimated net revenue and include a description of services, names of top executives, key customers and industry expertise. Senior Features Writer Daniel P. Bearth coordinated the project and was assisted by Brandon Green. Armstrong & Associates, a leading third-party logistics market research firm, provided revenue estimates and additional data used to rank companies in each of five logistics sectors. Firms wishing to participate in the 2018 Top 50 list can contact Transport Topics at [email protected]. Transport Topics’ Top 50 Logistics Companies is sponsored online by Rank Rank Net Revenue Gross Revenue Company % Change % Change Employees Industry Expertise/Key Customers Description of Services 2017 2016 (in millions) (in millions) 2 XPO Logistics Inc. $4,741 66.9 $8,638 56 NA Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Greenwich, Conn. $2,841 e $5,536 e NA building products, chemicals, consumer brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 1 packaged goods, computers and freight brokerage, intermodal and (NYSE: XPO) electronics, durable goods, industrial and drayage, inventory management and Bradley Jacobs, Chairman and CEO manufacturing, fashion and apparel, food packaging, order fulfillment, returned goods www.xpo.com and beverage, forest and paper products, management, supply chain consulting, government, health care, office equipment, transportation management, warehousing oil and gas, publishing, retail, rubber and and distribution plastic products, telecommunications Customers include: ASOS, Danone, Marks & Spencer, Perdue, Sears, Siemens Healthcare, Verizon 3 J.B. Hunt Transport Services $2,794 e 5 $6,181 e 6.3 22,172 Aerospace and defense, automotive, Dedicated contract carriage, freight Lowell, Ark. $2,660 e $5,816 e NA building products, chemicals, consumer brokerage, intermodal and drayage, 2 packaged goods, computers and supply chain consulting, transportation (Nasdaq: JBHT) electronics, durable goods, industrial and management John Roberts, President and CEO manufacturing, fashion and apparel, food www.jbhunt.com and beverage, forest and paper products, government, health care, office equipment, oil and gas, publishing, retail, rubber and plastic products, telecommunications Customers include: Goodyear, Mondelez Global, Costco, United Natural Foods, Home Depot, General Mills 1 UPS Supply Chain Solutions $2,640 e -15.1 $6,793 e 15.1 16,564 Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Atlanta $3,108 e $5,900 12,700 consumer packaged goods, computers brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 3 and electronics, durable goods, industrial freight brokerage, inventory management (UPS Inc.) and manufacturing, fashion and and packaging, order fulfillment, returned David Abney, CEO apparel, government, health care, retail, goods management, supply chain www.ups.com telecommunications consulting, transportation management, warehousing and distribution Customers include: NA 7 DHL Supply Chain $2,310 e 27.3 $4,200 e NA NA Automotive, chemicals, consumer packaged Order fulfillment, supply chain consulting, Westerville, Ohio $1,815 $3,300 NA goods, computers and electronics, durable transportation management, warehousing 4 goods, industrial and manufacturing, food and distribution (Deutsche Post DHL, Bonn, Germany) and beverage, health care, retail Scott Sureddin, CEO, North America Customers include: 7-Eleven, Bayer, Bristol www.exel.com Myers Squibb, Chrysler, Coty, Energizer, Ford Motor Co., General Electric, Hershey, International Paper, PepsiCo, The Home Depot, Novartis, Volkswagen, Zimmer 4 C.H. Robinson Worldwide $2,278 0.4 $13,144 -2.5 14,000 Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Eden Prairie, Minn. $2,268 $13,476 13,159 building products, chemicals, consumer brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 5 packaged goods, computers and freight brokerage, intermodal and drayage, (Nasdaq: CHRW) electronics, durable goods, industrial and inventory management and packaging, John Wiehoff, Chairman and CEO manufacturing, fashion and apparel, food returned goods management, supply chain www.chrobinson.com/en/us/ and beverage, forest and paper products, consulting, transportation management, government, health care, office equipment, warehousing and distribution oil and gas, publishing, retail, rubber and plastic products, telecommunications Customers include: Microsoft, Wal-Mart Stores, Lowe's, HSNi, Sunny Delight, Evergreen Packaging, Tesco, Coca-Cola, Ocean Spray, Newell Brands e = estimate NA = Not Applicable or Not Available In cooperation with: 2015 numbers printed in blue Transport Topics’ Top 50 Logistics Companies