DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding

DHL Global Forwarding grew through the acquisition of highly respected companies like Danzas. Its 2008 annual ocean container volume exceeded 2.8 million TEUs making it the largest ocean freight forwarder and it managed over 4.3 million airfreight metric tons. DHL also manages more than 35,000 weekly point pairs for LCL shipments globally. DHL Global Forwarding currently has 31 global carrier partners with 81 contracts on a multitude of trade lanes and more than 330 gateway facilities. DHL Global Forwarding and Supply Chain is by far the world’s largest logistics operation with gross revenue of $37 billion and net revenue (gross revenue - purchased transportation) of $21 billion. It is also the largest contract logistics provider in the Americas with 511 warehouses and 99 million square feet of space. DHL’s contract logistics revenues for 2008 where 49% of its gross revenues.

DB Schenker Logistics

For 2008, DB Schenker was the third largest ocean freight forwarder with over 1.4 million ocean TEUs and was in the top three for airfreight with 1.2 million metric tons managed. It also ranks second to DHL in gross revenue and net revenue which were $21 billion and $10 billion in 2008. It made significant purchases from 2006 to 2008 to double the size of its operations. These include the purchases of BAX in 2006, Spain-Tir in 2007, and Romtrans in 2008. Romtrans was the largest forwarding company in Romania with $140 million in revenue and 1,500 employees. Its operations extended as far east as Georgia. Spain-Tir had over 700 trucks and 16 million square feet of warehousing space covering the Iberian Peninsula. BAX added significant North American and Asian capacity. Schenker USA’s gross revenues were $2.8 billion for 2008. German operations, including Europe’s largest rail freight and trucking operations, are 70% of total revenues. Its European trucking operations have 23,000 employees/owner-operators and handled 72 million shipments in 2008.

Kuehne + Nagel

Kuehne + Nagel is the second largest ocean freight forwarding operation handling over 2.6 million containers per year. It is also top five airfreight forwarder with over 835,000 metric tons handled in 2008. Kuehne + Nagel had total revenue of $20 billion in 2008 and net revenue of $6 billion. Kuehne + Nagel’s North American logistics network totals 12 million sq. ft. of warehouse space across 50 DCs. There are 11 DCs in Canada, 30 DCs in the U.S., six in Mexico, and four Mexican border locations for transborder/customs services. Americas net revenue accounts for approximately 15% of its total net revenues. Over 50% was generated from freight forwarding. In addition, Kuehne + Nagel has developed its own land transport management and trucking network for Europe.

UPS Supply Chain Solutions

UPS is an 800 lb. gorilla of global supply chain services. Gross revenue was $9 billion and net revenue was $6.3 billion in 2008. Net freight forwarding/NVOCC/customs brokerage revenues were $4.6 billion and revenue from contract logistics was $1.6 billion. UPS SCS had a profitable year in 2008. UPS SCS contributes $2 billion+ per year in package business to its related express/small package carrier operations. UPS SCS handles about 700,000 TEUs per year as a ocean freight forwarder and 500,000 metric tons of airfreight. Twelve percent of ocean containers are LCL consolidations and 40% are Asia to the U.S. Forwarding revenues are 60% air and 40% ocean and UPS has 1,400 employees involved in customs brokerage. UPS has redesigned its supply chain operations to concentrate on high-tech, medical and some retail/consumer goods customers. These operations are highly integrated between value-added and package delivery services.

Panalpina and fourth largest ocean freight forwarder and is in the top five for airfreight. It handled 1,278,000 ocean TEUs in 2008, 901,000 metric tons of airfreight, and about one million tons of non-containerized break bulk cargo. 2008 gross revenue was $9.6 billion and net revenue was $1.6 billion. It has 242 sub-contracted warehouses in 150 countries and is consistently profitable. The life blood of Panalpina is its ongoing financial stability and transparency. Its gross profit runs 20% of gross revenue and Panalpina’s net income is consistently among the industry’s best. Like all of the truly strong players, these results are clearly and straightforwardly reported for each financial period. Gross profit (net revenue) runs 43% for air freight, 31% for ocean freight and 26% for SCM. Panalpina concentrates on six verticals: Automotive, Healthcare, High-Tech, Oil & Gas, Retail/Fashion, and Telecommunications. Its Oil & Gas operations are primarily in project logistics, which accounts for 10-15% of Panalpina's revenues.

Expeditors Int'l of Washington, Inc.

Expeditors is the best run North American-based freight forwarder. It continued its strong organic growth in 2008, growing by 7.6% with gross revenues of $5.6 billion. Net revenues reached $1.6 billion and it produced a gross margin of 18.8%. Net revenue is split 45% for airfreight forwarding, 35% for ocean freight forwarding, and 20% for customs brokerage. U.S. and Asia based business accounts for 77% of revenue. It handled 896,922 million ocean TEUs and 678,273 metric tons of airfreight in 2008. Expeditors is the largest forwarder/NVOCC in the Asia/U.S. lane. Over 45% of its total ocean freight forwarding container volumes are from China to the U.S. Expeditors’ European operations are primarily in airfreight and constitute 15% of revenues. Expeditors net revenues are 40% high-tech, 33% retail, 10% pharmaceuticals, 10% automotive, 5% furniture and 2% other vertical industries. Expeditors limits its participation in warehousing.

FedEx Supply Chain Services /

FedEx Trade Networks

FedEx Supply Chain Services/FedEx Trade Networks had 2008 gross revenue of $2 billion and net revenue of $1 billion. It consistently ranks as the top airfreight provider. A significant portion of its airfreight forwarding activity is directed to maximizing the utilization of its own express airplane fleet. Freight forwarding and customs brokerage at FedEx are service businesses whose role is to support FedEx transportation. For FedEx, SCM is a value-added part of express, package, less-than-truckload and other operations. Ocean freight forwarding activity is minor with a mere 10,000 containers handled in 2008.

CEVA Logistics

With estimated 2008 gross revenues of $9.3 billion, CEVA Logistics is one of the world’s largest logistics companies and is also the world’s largest automotive 3PL. It has a heavy emphasis on manufacturing customers and is expanding operations in vertical industries. Freight forwarding and transportation management accounts for 45.3% of its revenues and its employees account for 27.3% of the total. Contract Logistics is 54.7% of its revenues and its employees account for 72.7%. CEVA was a top ten airfreight forwarder with 536,000 metric tons handled in 2008 and is a top 20 ocean freight forwarder with 410,000 TEUs. CEVA Logistics operates in 100 countries and the operations we have visited get top marks. CEVA is very good at value-added warehousing activities and has excellent IT. Core services include fulfillment centers, high-velocity cross-docks, sub-assembly modularization, dedicated contract transportation, and network designs/redesigns. The Americas accounts for 30.1% of its revenues, Northern Europe is 25.7%; Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa is 21.4%, and the Asia Pacific accounts for the remainder. Private equity owner, Apollo Management, acquired EGL Eagle Global Logistics which has been rebranded as CEVA Freight Management. EGL added global freight forwarding to match CEVA’s high quality value-added warehousing, materials management and other contract logistics capabilities.

DSV Solutions Holding A/S

DSV is a primarily non-asset based provider with 2008 gross revenue of $7 billion and net revenue of $1.5 billion. Over half of its operations are European over-the-road and its Air & Sea division makes up a third. Its recent acquisition of ABX Logistics on October 1, 2008 (which is now included it DSV’s financial statements under the Air & Sea division) helped DSV’s Air & Sea division grow 51% from 2007 to 2008. DSV had ocean freight forwarding volumes of 850,000 TEUs and 215,000 metric tons of airfreight in 2008. DSV Solutions (logistics) has revenues of $1 billion per year. DSV Group is Denmark’s largest and leading supplier of transport and logistics services and has over 25,000 employees. The Group originates in the Nordic countries, but is established with own operations in more than 55 countries in Europe, the Far East and the Americas.

SDV International Logistics

SDV is a quintessentially French transportation and freight forwarding company. It has been ranked #1 in France by the IATA for airfreight and #5 in Europe. 2008 gross revenues were $5.9 billion and net revenues were $1.2 billion. It handled 680,000 ocean TEUs and 510,000 airfreight metric tons. SDV operates in 88 countries with a large footprint in Europe, Africa and Asia. It also has 14 branches in major U.S. cities.

Nippon Express Co. Ltd.

Nippon Express is Japan’s largest domestic transportation company and its Pelican Express operation is the largest package transporter in Japan. 2008 gross revenues were $19 billion and net revenues were $1.3 billion. Over 85% of Nippon revenues are from domestic Japanese operations. In addition to truck-based operations, Nippon provides warehousing, harbor and ship transportation, air freight forwarding and trucking. Its international operations in forwarding and contract logistics are tied to its Japanese base. For 2008, it handled 277,520 ocean TEUs and 896,500 metric airfreight tons.

NYK Logistics Co., Ltd.

NYK has aggressively grown international markets and expanded through organic growth and acquisitions. Its combined 2008 gross revenues are $5.3 billion and it generated $3.3 billion in net revenue. NYK Logistics started in 2001 by combining purchases and adding transportation and warehouse network to expanding contract logistics and airfreight operations. Contract logistics and distribution are strong in Europe. In Americas, seven companies have been combined to create NYK Logistics Americas, with a broad suite of logistics services offered in North, Central and South America. Automotive, industrial and retail/consumer goods vertical industries are emphasized. Its automotive logistics includes roll-on/roll-off, JIT and parts distribution. Sister company, Yusen Air & Sea, is a major airfreight operation, particularly within Asia and recently set up a strategic agreement with Panalpina. Nippon Cargo Air is now an NYK owned entity and NYK Logistics Americas has their own airfreight forwarding capability. NYK’s total ocean volumes are approximately 600,000 TEUs and it handled over 500,000 metric airfreight tons in 2008.

Agility

Agility is the new name for PWC Logistics following the integration of its different acquisitions. These include major international freight forwarder GeoLogistics and several smaller 3PLs. 2008 gross revenues were $6.5 billion and net revenues were $2.4 billion. It handled over 500,000 ocean TEUs and 490,000 airfreight metric tons. Agility has expanded its highly profitable business dramatically over the last five years from its warehousing base in Kuwait. It is a Middle Eastern leader in integrated supply chain solutions and is organized into three major business groups. Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) is the largest generating approximately 65% of Agility’s revenues and having more than 23,000 employees. It has core competencies in freight forwarding, contract logistics/warehousing, project logistics, fairs & events, and supply chain management 3PL services. The Defense & Government Services (DGS) business group generates approximately 32% of Agility’s revenues and has a workforce of over 10,000. It provides 3PL services tailored to governments, relief agencies and international institutions worldwide. These services include extensive warehousing and trucking operations to support U.S. Department of Defense distribution needs in the Middle East. The final business unit is Investments which accounts for the remainder of Agility’s revenues and employs more than 2,000 people.

UTi Worldwide Inc.

UTi net revenue increased 4% last year to $1.5 billion on gross revenue of $4.5 billion. It handled 487,000 ocean TEUs and 370,000 airfreight metric tons. UTI’s contract logistics operations are now 37% of net revenues. UTi’s purchase of Standard Corporation is still one of the most successful contract logistics acquisitions we have seen. UTi contract logistics has strong operations in Asia and a major drug distribution operation in South Africa. Airfreight forwarding, ocean freight forwarding and customs are the other major functions. UTi does very well in British Commonwealth countries. Former CEO Roger MacFarlane had been masterful at moving UTi forward rapidly using a tight core of executives.

GEODIS

Geodis is France's largest provider of transport and logistics services and figures among the top European players in the 3PL sector. With revenues over $7 billion and more than 26,000 employees, Geodis has operations in more than 120 countries worldwide through its subsidiaries. The group offers a complete portfolio of logistics and transport solutions, drawing on expertise from its four core businesses: parcel/small LTL delivery (groupage), truckload, logistics and overseas freight. Geodis purchased TNT’s freight forwarder (Wilson) in late 2006. Wilson added significant new coverage for Scandinavia, Germany, China, Australia, New Zealand, North America and South America. The combined business is 56% France, 32% other points in Europe, 7% Asian and 3% American. The combined operations are 35% freight forwarding; 36% parcel, LTL, and groupage; 17% contract logistics, and 12% truckload. The freight forwarding operations handled 411,000 ocean TEUs and 202,000 airfreight metric tons in 2008. Geodis recently acquired IBM Global Logistics, making it IBM’s lead logistics provider managing about €1.0 billion in logistics activities per year. Geodis has limited penetration in the North American market; there are 18 offices including two for its chemicals specialist operation, Rohde & Liesenfeld.

Kintetsu World Express, Inc.

Kintetsu Worldwide Express (KWE) global airfreight volume totaled 1,118,000 metric tons placing it in the top five for airfreight forwarders and it handled 474,000 ocean TEUs in 2008. KWE’s largest operations within their global network are in Japan and China, with over 100 offices located in each of those countries. Gross revenues were $2.9 billion and net revenues were $477 million in 2008. Fifty-two percent of its business is airfreight based. Ocean and logistics business accounts for 36%. KWE has a host of strategic joint ventures and affiliated companies. The majority of KWE’s customers are in high-tech, automotive, and healthcare verticals. It has 138 logistics warehouses outside Japan, with 6.4 million square feet (warehouse space in Japan is over 2.6 million square feet). Fifty-eight of those warehouses are in China. KWE listens to the “Voice of the Customer” and promotes long-term collaborative business partnerships. It’s a quality management success story.

DAMCO

Maersk is the world’s largest container line. It and parent A.P. Moller have a tradition of being financially strong, aggressive and market savvy. Damco is the rebranded name for Maersk Logistics and the Damco freight forwarding operations. Maersk Logistics was an ancillary business that functioned primarily in a support function with container operations and Damco Sea & Air came to A.P. Moller in the take-over of P&O Nedlloyd in 2005. Damco will report separate financials in 2009, but according to Damco, 2008 gross revenue for the combined operation was $2.9 billion and net revenue was $1.3 billion. It handled 587,000 ocean TEUs and 60,294 airfreight metric tons. The majority of revenues are between Asia and North America and approximately one-third is in Asia-European traffic.

Sankyu Inc.

Sankyu is an asset-based Japanese 3PL with a strong presence in the Asian market as well as operations in Europe, USA and Brazil. 2008 gross revenues were $2.3 billion and net revenues were $450 million. It handled 715,090 ocean TEUs and 21,863 airfreight metric tons. Although Sankyu still manages a significant amount of project logistics, its main revenue source is from logistics division customers in the automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, and retailing vertical industries. Logistics makes up about 56% of Sankyu's total company revenue. Sankyu is currently constructing a new Flagship Distribution Center totaling 907,400 sq. ft. in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, which is scheduled for completion in December 2009.

APL Logistics

Two-thirds of APL Logistics’ revenues are from contract logistics and one-third from freight forwarding. 2008 gross revenues were $1.3 billion and it handled approximately 500,000 ocean TEUs and 6,857 airfreight metric tons. APL Logistics' strengths have been in the automotive/industrial and retail customer verticals. Thirty-two percent of revenues are automotive/industrial, 29% retail, 17% consumer goods, 6% electronics/high-tech and 16% other. Sixty-two percent of its revenues are American based, 24% Asian based and the remainder are derived from European business. APL Logistics has automotive joint ventures in China. Its forwarding operations are closely linked to its parent company's ocean container operations. APL Logistics handles about 35,000 shipments in its intermodal division. Top intermodal customers include: 3M, Ace Hardware, Baxter, Bay Valley Foods, Del Monte, Hino Diesel Trucks (U.S.A.), Ikea, Wal-Mart, and Winn Dixie.

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics GmbH & Co. KG

Hellmann is a privately held German company which continues to be competitive against the big guys. It has good freight forwarding and contract logistics operations. 2008 gross revenues were $4.2 billion and net revenues were $830 million. It handled 523,650 ocean TEUs and 450,959 airfreight metric tons. Its coverage in Asia and China is extensive. In May 2009, Hellmann ceased its U.S. contract logistics operations. They only had one contract warehousing facility and public warehousing space.

Logwin AG

Logwin, formerly Thiel, is a conglomerate that acquired Birkart, Microlog and other companies over the last five years. Logwin has subsidiaries for automotive, fashion/lifestyle/media, and furniture. Logwin has three business segments: Solutions, Air + Ocean, and Road + Rail. Solutions is 35% of Logwin’s revenue, Air + Ocean is 27%, and Road + Rail accounts for the rest. 2008 gross revenues were $3 billion and net revenues were $1.5 billion. It handled approximately 400,000 ocean TEUs and 173,000 airfreight metric tons. Over 68% of its revenue is Germany and Austria based.

Kerry Logistics Network Ltd

Kerry Logistics' business portfolio encompasses contract logistics, international freight forwarding, warehousing, transportation, distribution, trading, merchandising, and a wide variety of value-added services. It is now managing over 16 million sq. ft. of warehouse space, logistics centers, and port facilities globally. Kerry Logistics handled 450,000 ocean TEUs and 115,000 metric tons of airfreight in 2008. Gross revenues were $1.1 billion and net revenues were $220 million. Kerry EAS Logistics, the brand name of Kerry Logistics in Mainland China, continues to provide high-quality logistics and solutions to customers in three major areas: freight forwarding, express parcel delivery and contract logistics.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide continues to be one of the most profitable 3PLs, regularly achieving net income margins greater than 20%. C.H. Robinson continues to refine the excellent business model put in place by its founders. 2008 gross revenues were $8.6 billion and net revenues were $1.4 billion. It handled 300,000 ocean TEUs and 40,000 airfreight metric tons. C.H. Robinson dominates domestic transportation management in North America. While 76% of Robinson’s net revenues are truck transportation related, it has solid domestic intermodal, international air and ocean, food sourcing, fuel card services and fuel management, and supply chain management. C.H. Robinson’s Canadian operations developed quickly and it has become a strong player. European operations have also been successful and profitable. Asian operations continue to grow. Recently, Robinson acquired offices in India and continues to make careful purchases of companies with specializations and has access to the free cash flow to make more. C.H. Robinson's IT and business processes are tightly coordinated. Reporting capabilities provide good operating and profitability control.

BDP International

BDP is a leading freight forwarder with a strong emphasis on chemicals industry customers. 2008 gross revenues were $1.6 billion and net revenues were $201 million. It handled 250,000 ocean TEUs and 120,000 airfreight metric tons. Operations are high quality. BDP handles customs brokerage for Dow Chemical and DuPont on about 600,000 containers a year.

Yusen Air & Sea Service Co., Ltd.

Yusen Air & Sea handled over 168,000 metric tons of export airfreight from Japan in 2008. Gross revenue was $1.9 billion and net revenue was $458 million. It handled 175,000 ocean TEUs and 530,000 airfreight metric tons. Japan accounts for 46.6% of Yusen’s business.