The Power 25: Kuehne+Nagel snags top forwarder spot

Global air cargo demand picked up during the second half of 2023, giving the market stronger volumes and rates not seen in the first half of the year. [caption id="attachment_57144181" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/Kuehne+Nagel)[/caption] The top 25 airfreight forwarders based on 2023 tonnage, however, remained largely unchanged, even with the addition of two newcomers to the list: Morrison Express at No. 18 and Best Services International Freight at No. 23. German forwarder Kuehne+Nagel again was the top cargo mover, with 1.98 million air cargo tonnes in 2023, although that was an 11.2% decrease year over year. The shipping giant additionally saw revenue decrease 39.2% in its air cargo operations, reflecting volatility in the market. “Our current priority is on cost control with the termination of the regional structure in the second quarter 2024,” Chief Financial Officer Markus Blanka-Graff said in a July 23 earnings call . “This reflects both a reduction of absolute costs and per-unit costs with expected [stability in] increasing sequential volumes in sea and airfreight.” The top five global airfreight forwarders remained unchanged compared to 2022, except for the addition of China’s largest third-party logistics (3PL) company by revenue, Sinotrans , which came in fifth, replacing Expeditors , an Armstrong & Associates analyst told Air Cargo Next . The tonnage and revenue figures used in the Power 25 ranking are based on a combination of Air Cargo Next research and data from Armstrong & Associates . Click here for the full Power 25 ranking “Beijing-based Sinotrans is a good example of international transportation management (ITM) 3PL segment revenues, going down 12.6% to $14.3 billion while volumes were up 10.8% in ocean freight to 4,309,000 TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units] and 15.5% in airfreight to 902,000 metric tonnes,” Amy St. Peter , market research manager at Armstrong, told Air Cargo Next . “Expeditors, the largest U.S.-based ITM 3PL based on revenue, was down 45.6% to $9.3 billion in 2023 gross revenue,” she said. “In 2023, its airfreight segment saw a 10% decrease in tonnage, and ocean freight containers handled fell by 16%.” The tonnage and revenue figures used in the Power 25 ranking are based on a combination of Air Cargo Next research and data from Armstrong & Associates . The top five freight forwarders by 2023 tonnage were: Kuehne+Nagel, with 2 million tonnes of air cargo; DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding , with 1.7 million tonnes; DSV , with 1.3 million tonnes; DB Schenker , with 1.1 million tonnes; and Sinotrans, with 902,000 tonnes. Maersk’s upward climb New to the list in 2022 at No. 25, Maersk jumped up to No. 17 in 2023 with 295,000 air cargo tonnes, a 29% YoY increase. “2023 was a transitional year for logistics and services business,” Patrick Jany , chief financial officer at Maersk , said in the company’s February earnings call. “Operational excellence became a key priority as markets normalized and prices rapidly adjusted back to pre-pandemic levels.” [caption id="attachment_93674" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/Maersk)[/caption] “We made progress on optimizing our fiscal space and adjusted our footprint to the current market environment,” he said. “We are still facing headwinds from lower prices and subdued activities in our verticals, which are reflected in the fourth-quarter financials.” The Denmark-based shipper’s gross logistics revenue declined 4% YoY in 2023 to $13.9 billion, according to Armstrong. Power 25 newcomers The recent upward trend in e-commerce may have been the catalyst for two Asian forwarders, where e-commerce exports have been growing rapidly, to appear on the Power 25 list for the first time. Taiwan-based freight forwarder Morrison Express , established in 1972, offers air, ocean and road freight services, as well as warehousing and distribution, according to Armstrong & Associates. Morrison handled 268,469 tonnes of air cargo in 2023, allowing it to debut at No. 18 on the Power 25 list. The forwarder’s gross logistics revenue was $800 million in 2023. Meanwhile, Best Services International Freight, founded in 2000, landed at No. 23 on the list, handling 243,523 air cargo tonnes in 2023.The freight forwarder, whose gross logistics revenue from air cargo in 2023 was $1.06 billion, is headquartered in Shenzhen with offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Qingdao, Chengdu, Hong Kong and other major cities in China. See the complete Power 25 rankings here.

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