E-COMMERCE DRIVES GROWTH IN PRODUCT RETURNS 2018 LOGISTICS COMPANIES Reinventing Logistics Innovation is changing the way firms do business. Senior features writer Daniel P. Bearth investigates. ideas venture capital What drives the nation’s leading provider of transportation and workforce solutions? Higher standards. There’s a wide world of choices in driver recruitment. But when it comes to the things that truly matter, one name stands out. TransForce holds drivers to the highest standards of safety and professionalism, while holding our customer service team to equally high standards for responsiveness. Just a few reasons we’re #1 in North America and the perfect partner when your company’s destination is success. 1-800-308-6989 | transforce.com XPO Logistics Takes Its Place at the Top moved up to No. 2 this year, with freight brokerage giant By Daniel P. Bearth C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Seattle-based freight Senior Features Writer forwarder Expeditors International of Washington rounding out the top five positions. s companies grow, so do expectations, and XPO In March, FedEx Corp. (No. 8) combined several of Logistics is not taking its newfound status as the largest its logistics-oriented business units to operate under Alogistics company in North America for granted. FedEx Trade Networks. The new business will offer After a string of high-profile acquisitions pushed XPO warehousing and service parts distribution, freight to the top of the Transport Topics Logistics 50 list in brokerage, expedited shipping, cross border services, 2017, the company kept its No. 1 ranking this year freight forwarding and supply chain consulting and is by growing its business organically and by effectively headed by Richard Smith, the son of FedEx founder cross-selling transportation and logistics services to Fred Smith. shippers. Americold Logistics (No. 9) is listed as a publicly traded The ranking of third-party logistics companies is company this year, a move that company executives based on net revenue, which is total revenue minus attribute, in part, to the need to respond to market the cost of purchased transportation. Logistics services changes brought on by a shift toward e-commerce and include primarily freight brokerage, warehousing and the need for faster delivery service. distribution, dedicated contract carriage and air and Several companies that specialize in e-commerce ocean freight forwarding. fulfillment are represented on the Top 50 list again this While more acquisitions are likely on the horizon for year. They include Radial (No. 14), which was acquired XPO, the company also is laying down a marker for by the Belgian postal operator Bpost in November, logistics companies in terms of investing in technology Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services (No. and nurturing a culture of innovation in its workforce. 24) and one company that is making its first appearance XPO spends more than $450 million a year on on the list. technology and employs more than 1,700 technology Visible Supply Chain Management (No. 44), based professionals, including 100 data scientists, to develop in Salt Lake City, specializes in parcel shipping and new ways of working with a focus on automation, fulfillment. With the acquisition of IntegraCore in shipment visibility and digital commerce. October, the company boosted its annual package Other companies are also using their size and financial shipping volume from 55 million to 80 million. resources to enhance service capabilities. Another company making the Top 50 this year is At DHL Supply Chain (No. 3), efforts are focused Averitt Express (No. 48), a regional less-than-truckload on providing customers with end-to-end visibility carrier that is using its network to provide a wide range of shipments from the warehouse to final delivery. of logistics services. The company is using augmented reality glasses and Two companies that appeared on the Top 50 last robotics in its distribution operations. In March, the year are not listed in 2018. One is Estenson Logistics company launched Parcel Metro to provide same-day (No. 46 in 2017), a dedicated contract carrier, that was and next-day delivery of goods purchased online using acquired by Hub Group in July. Swift Transportation a “virtual network” of local and regional vendors and (No. 15 in 2017) is not listed because relevant data crowd-sourced drivers and vehicles. on its dedicated and intermodal operations was not Prior to XPO’s rise to No. 1, DHL and UPS Supply available. Swift merged with truckload carrier Knight Chain Solutions had traded places at the top of the Top Transportation to form Knight-Swift Transportation in 50 list since the first list was compiled in 2002. UPS September. ABOUT THE TOP 50 LIST The 2018 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 2019 Top 50 list can contact Transport Topics at [email protected]. Transport Topics’ Top 50 Logistics Companies is sponsored online by w Rank Rank Net Revenue Gross Revenue Company % Change % Change Employees Industry Expertise/Key Customers Description of Services 2018 2017 (in millions) (in millions) 1 XPO Logistics Inc. $5,238 e 10.5 $9,506 e 10 NA Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Greenwich, Conn. $4,741 $8,638 NA building products, chemicals, consumer brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 1 packaged goods, computers and freight brokerage, intermodal and drayage, (NYSE: XPO) electronics, durable goods, industrial and inventory management and packaging, order Bradley Jacobs, Chairman and CEO manufacturing, fashion and apparel, food fulfillment, returned goods management, www.xpo.com and beverage, forest and paper products, supply chain consulting, transportation government, health care, office equipment, management, warehousing and distribution oil and gas, publishing, retail, rubber and plastic products, telecommunications Customers include: NA 3 UPS Supply Chain Solutions $3,252 e 23.2 $7,981 17.5 NA Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Atlanta $2,640 e $6,793 e 16,564 consumer packaged goods, computers brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 2 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 consulting, www.ups.com telecommunications transportation management, warehousing and distribution Customers include: NA 4 DHL Supply Chain $2,415 e 4.5 $4,390 e 4.5 NA Automotive, chemicals, consumer packaged Order fulfillment, supply chain consulting, Westerville, Ohio $2,310 e $4,200 e NA goods, computers and electronics, durable transportation management, warehousing 3 goods, industrial and manufacturing, food and distribution (Deutsche Post DHL, Bonn, Germany) and beverage, health care, retail Scott Sureddin, CEO, North America Customers include: Bayer Healthcare, www.exel.com Chrysler, Coty, Diageo, Campbell’s Soup, Rodan + Fields, Lego, General Mills, Nike 5 C.H. Robinson Worldwide $2,368 4 $14,869 13.1 15,074 Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, custom Eden Prairie, Minn. $2,278 $13,144 14,000 building products, chemicals, consumer brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, 4 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 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, Walmart, Lowe's, HSNi, Sunny Delight, Evergreen Packaging, Tesco, Coca-Cola, Ocean Spray, Newell Brands 6 Expeditors International of Washington $2,319 7.2 $6,920 13.5 16,944 Aerospace and defense, automotive, Air and ocean freight forwarding, cross- Seattle $2,164 $6,098 14,600 computers and electronics, fashion and border services, custom brokerage, order 5 apparel, food and beverage, health care, oil fulfillment, returned goods management, (Nasdaq: EXPD) and gas, retail transportation management, warehousing and distribution Jeffrey Musser, President and CEO Customers include: NA www.expeditors.com e = estimate NA = Not Applicable or Not Available In cooperation with: 2017 numbers printed in orange 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