Best Logistics Companies in 2026

DSV is a Danish transport and logistics group headquartered in Hedehusene that ranked second on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 list of global third-party logistics providers, with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$37.4 billion, and first (tied with Kuehne+Nagel) on A&A's 2026 global freight forwarders list. Forbes' 2026 Global 2000 lists it with sales of US$42.8 billion and 151,751 employees.

The defining event in DSV's recent history is the acquisition of Schenker from Deutsche Bahn. DSV announced completion on 30 April 2025, in a deal valued at about DKK 106.7 billion (approximately €14.3 billion), and consolidated Schenker from 1 May 2025. The combined group had pro forma revenue of about DKK 310 billion and close to 160,000 employees in more than 90 countries. The deal roughly doubled DSV's size and added Schenker's land-transport and contract-logistics operations to DSV's air and sea forwarding business.

For shippers, DSV's scale gives it buying power with airlines and ocean carriers and a dense European road network inherited from Schenker. The integration of two large networks, staff and IT systems is the main operational risk customers have had to manage through 2025 and 2026. DSV does not publish rates; all services are quoted.

DHL Supply Chain and DHL Global Forwarding are the contract-logistics and freight-forwarding divisions of DHL Group, which Forbes lists as Deutsche Post, headquartered in Bonn, Germany. Armstrong & Associates combines the two in its rankings: they placed third on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$35.5 billion, and second on its 2026 freight forwarders list.

The wider group is the largest transport company on the Forbes 2026 Global 2000 by sales, at US$95.6 billion with 583,998 employees. Its ranking as a single group reflects businesses beyond the two logistics divisions counted by A&A.

In practice DHL Supply Chain runs warehouses and dedicated logistics operations under multi-year contracts, while Global Forwarding arranges air, ocean and road freight. Because Armstrong & Associates ranks the two together, their combined revenue is comparable with DSV's and Kuehne+Nagel's, even though the wider DHL Group is more than twice the size of either.

Kuehne+Nagel is a Swiss logistics company headquartered in Schindellegi. It ranked fourth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$33.8 billion, and tied with DSV for first on A&A's 2026 global freight forwarders list, which averages revenue, ocean TEU and air tonnage ranks. Forbes lists 2026 sales of US$29.6 billion.

The company describes itself as one of the world's leading logistics providers, with close to 92,000 employees at almost 1,300 sites in close to 100 countries, serving about 400,000 customers. Services cover sea, air and road freight; fulfilment, warehousing and distribution; customs clearance, cargo insurance, project logistics and e-commerce; and supply chain management including 4PL integrated logistics and cold-chain logistics. Its myKN platform provides digital shipment management and visibility.

Its joint first place on the A&A forwarder list reflects strength in both ocean and air volumes rather than revenue alone. Kuehne+Nagel does not publish rates; services are quoted per lane and contract.

CEVA Logistics is the logistics business of the CMA CGM Group. It ranked fifth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue estimated at US$18.3 billion.

CEVA's current scale reflects acquisitions by its parent. On 29 February 2024 the Bolloré Group and CMA CGM announced completion of the sale of 100% of Bolloré Logistics to CMA CGM for a purchase price of €4.85 billion. Bolloré Logistics had 2022 turnover of €7.1 billion, carried 710,000 TEU of ocean freight and 390,000 tonnes of air freight, and employed 14,000 people. CMA CGM said the new entity combining CEVA and Bolloré Logistics was number five in its sector.

Belonging to a group that also operates container shipping is the main difference between CEVA and the independent forwarders ranked above it. Some shippers value the link to a carrier group; others prefer forwarders with no carrier ownership, so the parent relationship is a factor to weigh. CEVA does not publish rates.

Nippon Express, now branded NX Group under the holding company Nippon Express Holdings, is a Tokyo-based logistics group operating since 1937. It ranked sixth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$17.2 billion, and says it ranked fourth on A&A's Top 25 Global Freight Forwarders list for 2026.

The group reports 77,925 employees as of December 2025, more than 2,900 locations and 322 group companies, and a presence in 56 countries and regions as of March 2026. Services include air, ocean, ground and multimodal freight; project logistics and heavy cargo; overseas relocation; warehousing and distribution; supply chain management and lead logistics provider services; and industry programmes for technology, mobility, fashion, healthcare and semiconductors.

Forbes' 2026 Global 2000 shows sales of US$17.1 billion but net profit of only US$39.9 million, reflecting thin margins compared with Western forwarders. Its dedicated programmes for semiconductor, mobility and healthcare customers are its main distinction from generalist forwarders.

A.P. Moller-Maersk is a Copenhagen-based shipping and logistics group. Forbes' 2026 Global 2000 lists sales of US$53.6 billion and 107,638 employees for the whole group, most of which comes from container shipping. Armstrong & Associates counts only its logistics business, Maersk Logistics, which ranked seventh on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$15.1 billion.

Maersk's logistics business is designed to extend its ocean network inland, so that an importer can buy ocean carriage and the logistics before and after it from one group. That integrated model is the main reason shippers choose it, particularly those already moving large volumes on Maersk vessels; the gap between group sales and A&A's logistics figure shows that ocean shipping remains the larger part of the business.

The trade-off is the same as for CEVA: some shippers prefer forwarders that are not part of a carrier group and can switch freely between lines. Because group results are dominated by ocean freight rates, Maersk's financial performance is more cyclical than that of pure 3PLs such as C.H. Robinson or GXO.

C.H. Robinson is a US third-party logistics provider based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, that ranked eighth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$14.8 billion, and tied seventh on its 2026 freight forwarders list. Forbes lists 2026 sales of US$16.2 billion and 11,855 employees.

The company says it serves 75,000 customers, works with 450,000 carriers, handles 37 million shipments a year and manages US$23 billion in freight, across truckload, less-than-truckload, ocean, air and other modes. It describes more than a century of operating history. Its model is to match shipper freight with a very large base of independent carriers rather than run its own fleet.

For shippers, C.H. Robinson's strength is capacity in the North American truckload market and the ability to combine domestic trucking with international forwarding. Forbes' headcount of 11,855 is small relative to its revenue, compared with asset-based carriers.

Sinotrans is a Beijing-based logistics company that ranked ninth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$13.6 billion, and third on A&A's 2026 global freight forwarders list. Forbes' 2026 Global 2000 lists Sinotrans Ltd. with sales of US$13.3 billion, profit of US$570 million and 31,953 employees.

Its Chinese-language site lists sea freight, air freight, land transport, shipping agency, terminal and yard operations, inland feeder transport, logistics information systems, supply chain security and a consolidation service, with network regions in Europe, North America, mainland China, Africa, South America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. A subsidiary operates rail-led multimodal services from Hunan.

Its high ranking among forwarders, above its revenue rank, reflects large ocean and air volumes. For foreign shippers sourcing from China, the attraction is origin coverage; the site's limited English-language information is a practical drawback for international buyers.

GXO Logistics is a contract logistics company that ranked tenth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$13.2 billion. Unlike the forwarders above it, GXO does not move freight between countries; it runs warehouses and distribution operations on behalf of customers.

GXO reports about 150,000 team members, more than 1,000 warehouse locations in 27 countries and about 200 million square feet of warehouse space, and says about 30% of Fortune 100 companies are customers.

As a pure play, GXO is a natural choice for companies outsourcing fulfilment or distribution centres, and its scale spreads the cost of warehouse technology across many customers. It does not offer international forwarding, so customers typically pair it with a forwarder or carrier.

GEODIS is a French logistics company with its head office in Levallois, France; its site carries the SNCF group brand. It reported €10.6 billion of revenue in 2025, nearly 47,955 employees and a network covering close to 166 countries. Armstrong & Associates ranked it eleventh on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$11.7 billion.

GEODIS organises its business around freight forwarding, contract logistics, distribution and express deliveries, plus road transport. The mix of forwarding with domestic distribution and express makes it one of the few groups in this list to cover both international and local delivery legs.

For shippers, GEODIS combines European domestic distribution with international forwarding, a mix comparable to DSV's after the Schenker deal but at a smaller scale. It is not separately listed, so less financial detail is public than for listed competitors.

J.B. Hunt is a US transportation and logistics company founded in 1961 that, by its own account, started with five trucks and seven trailers. Forbes lists it with headquarters in Lowell, Arkansas, 2026 sales of US$12.1 billion and 31,750 employees, and Armstrong & Associates ranked it twelfth on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$11.3 billion.

Its services include intermodal, truckload, less-than-truckload, dedicated contract services, final mile services, international, managed logistics and brokerage. Intermodal, which moves containers by rail for the long haul and by truck at each end, is its signature business; dedicated contract services provide customers with trucks and drivers assigned to their operations.

J.B. Hunt is primarily a North American provider. It suits shippers that want dedicated and intermodal capacity in the US market rather than the asset-light forwarding model of the European leaders.

Expeditors International of Washington was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Armstrong & Associates ranked it thirteenth on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$11.1 billion; Forbes lists 2026 sales of US$11.2 billion and 19,800 employees.

The company operates more than 335 locations in 100 countries on six continents and offers supply chain services, air, ground and ocean transportation, project cargo, customs and compliance, and warehousing and distribution. It describes itself as service-based: "we don't own the aircraft, ships, or trucks we use every day".

Customs and compliance is listed as a core service line rather than an add-on. Forbes data show profit of US$836 million on sales of US$11.2 billion, a higher margin than most forwarders in this list. It offers less contract logistics than DHL or GXO.

DP World is a ports and logistics group whose logistics operations ranked fourteenth on Armstrong & Associates' 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$10.5 billion. The company says it has more than 126,000 employees from 169 nationalities and describes its purpose as powering the flow of global trade through supply chain infrastructure.

Its offer spans ports and terminals, economic zones, freight forwarding, contract logistics, market access and end-to-end supply chain services, with operations in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, Brazil and a European intermodal network.

DP World's distinguishing feature is that it operates trade infrastructure itself, including ports, terminals and economic zones. That lets it offer shippers combined port, zone and warehousing solutions. Its logistics revenue is roughly a third of DSV's on A&A's figures.

DACHSER is a family-owned German logistics company founded in 1930. Armstrong & Associates ranked it fifteenth on its 2026 global 3PL list with 2025 gross logistics revenue of US$9.3 billion, and tied it fifteenth on its 2026 freight forwarders list. Its own 2025 figures show 37,452 employees, 427 locations and 42 country organisations, with consolidated net revenue of 8.3 billion.

Its global network is organised as Air & Sea Logistics, European Logistics (including procurement logistics), Food Logistics, Industry Solutions, Rail Services and a warehouse network. European Logistics is a groupage (consolidated less-than-truckload) network, and Food Logistics serves grocery and food producers.

Family ownership distinguishes DACHSER from listed and state-linked competitors, and its European groupage product suits mid-sized manufacturers that ship pallets across many countries. It is smaller outside Europe than the forwarders ranked above it.