Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption according to the needs of customers. Logistics management is a component that holds the supply chain together. The resources managed in logistics may include tangible goods such as materials, equipment, and supplies, as well as food and other consumable items.
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation, without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damage and loss, and allows freight to be transported faster. Reduced costs over road trucking is the key benefit for inter-continental use. This may be offset by reduced timings for road transport over shorter distances.
In transportation, freight refers to goods conveyed by land, water or air, while cargo refers specifically to freight when conveyed via water or air. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in case of goods in the cold-chain, because the perishable inventory is always in transit towards a final end-use, even when it is held in cold storage or other similar climate-controlled facilities, including warehouses.
Truckload shipping is the movement of large amounts of homogeneous cargo, generally the amount necessary to fill an entire semi-trailer or intermodal container. A truckload carrier is a trucking company that generally contracts an entire trailer-load to a single customer. This is as opposed to a less-than truckload (LTL) company that generally mixes freight from several customers in each trailer. One advantage Full Truckload (FTL) carriers have over Less than Truckload carriers is that the freight is never handled en route, whereas an LTL shipment will typically be transported on several different trailers. Truckload shipments are typically run on 48' or 53'dry van trailers which will hold 24 or 26 pallets respectively.
Less-than-truckload shipping or less than load (LTL) is the transportation of an amount of freight sized between individual parcels and full truckloads. Parcel carriers handle small packages and freight that can be broken down into units less than approximately 150 pounds (68 kg). Full truckload carriers move entire semi-trailers. Semi-trailers are typically between 26 and 53 feet and require a substantial amount of freight to make such transportation economical. The term LTL can refer to the freight itself, or to the carrier that transports the such freight.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. is an American transportation company that includes third-party logistics (3PL). The company offers freight transportation, transportation management, brokerage and warehousing. It offers truckload, less than truckload, air freight, intermodal, and ocean transportation.
Estes Express Lines is a privately owned American freight transportation provider based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1931 by W. W. Estes, the company is still owned and operated by the Estes family. Robey W. Estes, Jr., became the company’s president in 1990, then chairman and CEO in 2001. He was succeeded by his son Webb Estes as COO and President in 2023.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. is an American transportation and logistics company, serving the United States, Mexico and Canada. Werner Enterprises stated that it had 2022 revenues of $3.29 billion and over 14,000 employees and contractors.
Pacer International, also known as Pacer Stacktrain, is the former name of a major North American provider of intermodal services, was owned by XPO, Inc. which later sold it in 2022 to STG Logistics.
TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, the name it used until 2006 when it was rebranded UPS Freight by new owner UPS. Its name changed to TForce Freight in 2021 when UPS sold the company to TFI.
New England Motor Freight, Inc. (NEMF) was a unionized less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload freight carrier, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was one of the largest LTL carriers in the US Northeast when it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 and subsequently shut down all operations in 2020.
Saia is an American less than truckload (LTL) trucking company, that originated in Houma, Louisiana in 1924. With original operation occurring in Louisiana and Texas for the first fifty years, expansion came after 1980 when coverage began reaching into more states within the South. Further expansion happened through mergers with other companies, which allowed Saia to provide service for thirty six states. Saia ranks within the top ten of LTL carriers in the United States, with revenues of over $1.8 billion in 2020.
Pitt Ohio Express, LLC, stylized PITT OHIO, is a privately owned transportation and supply chain management company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that serves the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern US. Pitt Ohio ranked 48th on Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire list and 14th on its Top Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Carriers list of US and Canadian freight carriers by revenue for 2021.
TFI International Inc. is a Canadian transport and logistics company based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, a borough of Montreal. It operates primarily in Canada, the United States, and Mexico through 4 business segments: less than truckload (LTL), package and courier, logistics, and truckload. It has Canada's largest LTL business, largest trucking fleet, and in 2021 was ranked 6th in terms of revenue among both LTL and truckload North American carriers. Its trucking fleet consists of over 14,000 company-owned power units, nearly 10,000 owner-operator tractors, nearly 50,000 trailers and over 200 straight trucks.
Third-party logistics is an organization's long term commitment of outsourcing its distribution services to third-party logistics businesses.
XPO, Inc. is an American transportation company that conducts less-than-truckload shipping in North America. The company has headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S., and 564 locations globally.
FreightCenter is a privately owned, non-asset based 3rd-party logistics provider (3PL) with headquarters in Palm Harbor, FL. FreightCenter acts as a conduit between freight carriers and commercial or residential shippers located in the United States and Canada. As a conduit, shippers use the provider's online freight quote calculator to calculate freight costs for less than truckload, truckload, rail, ocean and air freight.
APL Logistics Ltd. (APLL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kintetsu World Express, Inc. (KWE), a Japan-based freight forwarding and transportation company. As a global supply chain specialist, APL Logistics trades in more than 60 countries, serving the automotive, consumer, industrials, and retail verticals. Headquartered in Singapore and USA, APL Logistics has locations across the globe.
A freight broker is an intermediary between a shipper and a freight service provider. Freight brokers can specialize in certain types of freight, such as equipment hauling on lowboys, oversize, bulk tanker, auto, or other types of freight transportation.
The freight technology sector, also known as FreightTech, refers to software companies and technologies which assist in supply chain management and the movement of freight. In the five years following 2014, investment in FreightTech companies grew from $118 million to $3 billion per year.
