A tale of two forwarders

Kuehne + Nagel and Panalpina, two of the world’s largest forwarders and logistics services providers, are headquartered in Switzerland, but while their head offices may be close, their fourth-quarter results are far apart. Despite both carriers reporting significant increases in airfreight volumes, year-over-year, in the fourth quarter of 2016, K+N reported a 12.7 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income, while its compatriot Panalpina saw its net income tumble almost 70 percent.