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Other Services Providers
Compare the top Freight Forwarding Services Providers service providers for 2026 — vetted firms, agencies and consultants in the Other Services Providers category.
Retained first place in the Armstrong & Associates 2026 global air freight forwarder ranking with 2.2 million tonnes, up 7% year on year. Founded 1890, with around 85,000 employees across roughly 1,300 sites in close to 100 countries, serving about 400,000 customers and handling over 4.3 million ocean TEU annually.
Visit website →Largest freight forwarder in the world by revenue in 2026 at roughly $46 billion pro forma, following completion of its DB Schenker acquisition on 30 April 2025 for approximately EUR 14.3 billion. Around 150,000 employees across more than 90 countries. Second in air freight at 2 million tonnes.
Visit website →Third in the Armstrong & Associates 2026 air freight ranking with 1,767,000 metric tons, and consistently top-five by ocean TEU. Network spans more than 220 countries and territories - the most internationally extensive forwarding operation.
Visit website →The largest freight forwarder operating out of China and a consistent top-five name in ocean rankings by container throughput. Weighted more heavily toward ocean than air freight.
Visit website →Placed in the top five of the Armstrong & Associates 2026 air freight forwarder ranking and among the top ten by ocean TEU, the leading Japanese forwarder.
Visit website →Rounded out the top five in the Armstrong & Associates 2026 air freight ranking and sits in the global top ten by ocean volume. Operates a non-asset-based model combining forwarding with customs brokerage.
Visit website →Among the top ten global forwarders by ocean TEU. Part of the CMA CGM group, combining forwarding with contract logistics.
Visit website →The leading freight forwarder headquartered in North America and among the global top ten by ocean volume, operating a non-asset-based brokerage and forwarding model.
Visit website →Among the top ten global forwarders by ocean TEU. Now part of CMA CGM following acquisition - older rankings list it as an independent company.
Visit website →Tied at rank 7 with C.H. Robinson in the Armstrong & Associates Top 25 Global Freight Forwarders list. Appears in current rankings as KLN, having previously been listed as Kerry Logistics.
Visit website →This page lists 10 freight forwarding services providers providers that work with United States clients. We look at delivery track record, whether the team overlaps with US time zones, how they scope and price work, and whether they can sign standard US contracts including an MSA, SOW, NDA and mutual indemnity.
Firms currently featured include Kuehne + Nagel, DSV A/S, DHL Group (DHL Global Forwarding), and Sinotrans.
Delivery footprints on this list span Schindellegi, Switzerland, Hedehusene, Denmark, Bonn, Germany, and Beijing, China, so you can choose between onshore US delivery, nearshore teams with 3–5 hours of overlap, and offshore teams priced for volume work.
US buyers usually see three engagement models for freight forwarding services providers: fixed-scope projects, time and materials with a monthly cap, and a dedicated team retainer. Onshore US consultancies typically bill $153–$250 per hour, nearshore partners in Latin America $55–$95, and offshore teams $25–$55.
Ask for a rate card by role, not a blended rate — a blended number hides how much of the work is done by junior staff. For fixed-bid work, insist on a written change-order process, and for retainers, confirm the notice period and any minimum monthly hours.
Watch the total cost of ownership: discovery workshops, knowledge transfer, post-launch support, and the cost of taking the work back in house at the end.
Before you sign, confirm the provider carries professional liability (E&O) and cyber insurance with US-acceptable limits, and that the MSA clearly assigns IP ownership of all deliverables to you on payment.
If the engagement touches regulated data, get the compliance posture in writing: SOC 2 Type II for the provider's own systems, HIPAA with a signed BAA for health data, CCPA/CPRA handling for California consumer data, GLBA for financial services, and background-check policies for anyone with production access.
Also nail down worker classification and subcontracting — many US buyers require written approval before any part of the work is passed to a third party.
Run the same questions past two or three firms from this list and compare the answers side by side — the differences are usually more revealing than the proposals.
Based on the 10 firms reviewed on this page, Kuehne + Nagel, DSV A/S, and DHL Group (DHL Global Forwarding) are among the strongest options for US clients. Shortlist two or three, ask each for references from US clients of your size, and compare their scoping approach before you commit.
Onshore US consultancies typically bill $120–$250 per hour for this type of work, nearshore partners $55–$95, and offshore teams $25–$55. Fixed-scope projects and monthly retainers are both common — always request a rate card broken out by role rather than a single blended rate.
Choose onshore when the work needs deep regulatory context, frequent stakeholder workshops, or full time-zone overlap. Choose nearshore for a balance of cost and 3–5 hours of daily overlap, and offshore for well-specified, high-volume work where the scope is stable.
A master services agreement plus a scope-specific SOW, clear IP assignment on payment, a written change-order process, named key personnel, escalation and support hours, confidentiality terms, and — for regulated data — a signed BAA or equivalent data-processing addendum. Confirm professional liability and cyber insurance limits too.
Discovery usually runs 1–3 weeks, an initial delivery phase 6–12 weeks, and ongoing support is normally a monthly retainer. Providers that cannot outline that timeline in the proposal stage tend to struggle with scope control later.
