Top 40 Global 3PLs
Special Report
“ You can get volume , or you can get margin , but you can ’ t get both .”
Forwarders struggle as volumes tumble from pandemic highs
By Eric Johnson
A year of muted cargo demand , especially relative to the historic highs of the COVID-19 pandemic , translated into sales struggles in 2023 for more than three-quarters of the world ’ s largest third-party logistics providers ( 3PLs ).
Only nine of the Journal of Commerce ’ s Top 40 Global 3PLs grew revenue in 2023 , a clear a sign as any that demand and rate levels came crashing back to Earth last year . The impacts of the Red Sea crisis , which emerged in the second half of December , came far too late to rescue any growth ambitions for most logistics companies .
Of the 31 that saw revenue decline in 2023 , all but five saw it drop by at least 10 %. And of the remaining 26 , 16 saw revenue decline by more than 20 %. Nine 3PLs saw revenue fall by more than 30 %, including three of the top five , while three companies experienced a drop of more than 40 %.
Another notable development was the fortunes of DB Schenker , which is in the middle of a sales process that analysts say could reach $ 20 billion . Revenue at the German 3PL declined 30.5 % in 2023 , but its profit was $ 1.2 billion , more than double its pre-pandemic profit in 2019 .
In some ways , the overall decline in revenue for the world ’ s largest 3PLs was no surprise , given the intense ramp-up in revenue from 2020 through 2022 . Results couldn ’ t grow in that direction in perpetuity .
www . joc . com April 8 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 25