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The global warehousing industry was worth a colossal $1.9 trillion in 2020, representing a growth rate of around 7% over the previous year.
Most experts agree that this rapid expansion was mainly due to a sharp uptick of e-commerce sales in 2020, which resulted from covid-19 related shutdowns around the world.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the ten largest warehousing companies in the world by annual revenue. We’ll discuss the specific industries they operate in and exactly how much warehousing space they manage.
10 Largest Warehousing Companies in the World by Revenue
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United Parcel Service (UPS). Atlanta, Georgia
2020 Annual Revenue: $74.97 billion
UPS is one of the largest shipping, freight, and last-mile delivery companies in the world.
The company’s primary business is delivering documents and packages to recipients around the world.
To do this, it maintains over 35 million square feet of warehousing and distribution facilities spread across 1,000 locations in 120 countries.
UPS’ main business divisions are:
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UPS Airline
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UPS Freight
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UPS Flight Forward
Its primary business segments include:
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U.S Domestic Package: Time-definite delivery of documents, letters, and packages throughout the country.
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International Package. UPS delivers packages in over 220 different countries and territories around the world.
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Supply Chain Freight. Provides a variety of B2B services, such as customs brokerage, supply chain design, and freight distribution.
UPS employs over 440,000 workers, including around 240,000 package handlers, truck drivers, and clerks.
The company is currently investing heavily in green logistics solutions.
They offer a carbon-neutral shipping program that charges customers a fee to ship their goods using zero-emissions warehousing, logistics, and distribution processes.
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DHL. Bonn, Germany
2019 Annual Revenue: $72.43 billion
DHL Group started as an American air freight delivery company in 1969 and eventually expanded its services worldwide. It was later acquired in 2002 by Deutsche Post.
The company manages over 430 warehouses around the world, comprising nearly 135 million square feet of warehousing space.
DHL Group delivers over 61 million letters and packages each day across 220 countries. In 2019, the company’s staff numbered over 540,000 employees.
Public shareholders own 79.5% of the company. The remaining equity is owned by the German state-owned bank KfW.
The company is currently tackling an initiative to drastically decrease its emissions.
To this end, they’ve partnered with StreetScooter to develop a fleet of electric delivery vehicles.
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2020 Annual Revenue: $69.217 billion
FedEx isn’t just one of the largest warehousing companies in the world but the single largest cargo airline measured by freight ton-kilometers (FTK).
The company’s primary business is a freight and package delivery, servicing more than 220 countries and territories worldwide.
It manages more than 35 million square feet of warehousing and logistics facilities and employs over 600,000 workers.
FedEx operates several large brands and business divisions, including:
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FedEx Ground
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FedEx Office
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FedEx Supply Chain
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FedEx Freight
FedEx generates revenue through government contracts, B2B services, as well as from broad consumers.
The company ships significant volumes of goods using air freight. In fact, their air shipping services make its main hub at the Memphis International Airport the single busiest airport in North America.
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Kuehne + Nagel International AG. Schindellegi, Switzerland
Kuehne + Nagel Inc is a Swiss freight and logistics conglomerate, with business divisions operating in the following industries:
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Sea freight
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Air freight
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Contract logistics
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IT logistics solutions
The company maintains over 75 million square feet of warehousing space across 65 different countries, including 14 million in the United States.
These warehouses mainly reside in five separate geographic regions:
Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Europe. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.-
Asia Pacific. Headquartered in Singapore
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North America. Headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Europe. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.
Keuhne + Nagel have over 72,500 employees across its nearly 1,400 locations in over 100 countries.
Since 2006, the company alone has accounted for over 10% of the world’s sea and air freight business by revenue.
Its warehousing and distribution networks primarily service the following industries:
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Aerospace
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Automotive
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Consumer electronics
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Fast-moving consumer goods
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Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
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Nippon Express USA. Tokyo, Japan
2018 Annual Revenue: $19.9 billion
Commonly known as “Nitsu,” Nippon Express is a distribution and logistics company that manages approximately 2.95 million square meters of warehousing space in Japan and an additional 2.4 million square meters internationally.
The company operates 744 branches in 48 countries, offering its warehousing space and other logistics tools and solutions to businesses.
Nippon specializes in the following supply-chain related services:
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Warehousing and distribution
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Supply chain management
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IT-based supply chain solutions
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Specializes transport
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Transport by ground, sea, and air freight
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Schenker. Essen, Germany
2018 Annual Revenue: $19.42 billion
DB Schenker Logistics is the logistics division of German rail line Deutsche Bahn AG.
In 2000, Deutsche Bahn AG noticed that their customers were switching to competitors that could meet their warehousing needs, resulting in their acquisition of Schenker-Stinnes two years later and the formation of DB Schenker Logistics.
DB Schenker Logistics manages over 94 million square feet of warehousing space, spread across 794 facilities in 60 countries.
The company provides warehousing, logistics, and other supply chain solutions to major companies such as Apple, Ford, and Dell.
Its main business divisions are:
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Land Transport
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Lead Logistics
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Contract Logistics
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Ocean Air Freight
As of 2020, DV Schenker Logistics employed over 72,000 workers.
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XPO Logistics. Greenwich, Connecticut
2019 Annual Revenue: $16.648 billion
XPO Logistics is a multinational contracts logistics management and transportation company.
The company manages over 202 million square feet of warehousing space, spread across more than 1,530 branches in 30 countries.
It provides various B2B supply chain logistics solutions, including:
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Freight brokerage
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Last mile delivery
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Drayage and intermodal
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Global forwarding
XPO logistics currently services over 50,000 clients, including 69 Fortune 100 companies.
The company is the largest less-than-truckload provider in Western Europe and the third-largest in all of North America.
Its LTL division uses a hub-and-spoke distribution system and operates a combined worldwide fleet of over 39,000 trailers and 16,000 trailers.
Because of XPO Logistic’s extensive warehousing and distribution networks, they’re able to operate as the largest last-mile logistics company in the United States, beating even UPS and Amazon.
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DSV. Hedehusene, Denmark
2019 Annual Revenue: $14.2 billion
DSV Panalpina is a multinational logistics company that was formed in 1976 through a merger of nine of Denmark’s largest independent haulers.
The company manages over 7 million square feet of warehousing space across 38 locations.
It’s among the five largest third-party logistics businesses in the entire world, operating in 90 countries and employing almost 60,000 staff members.
DSV Panalpina’s main services include air, sea, and rail transport.
It also maintains significant trucking networks across North America, South Africa, and Europe.
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Nippon Yusen (NYK Line India). Tokyo, Japan
Annual Revenue: $13.6 billion
Nippon Yusen is a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, a conglomeration of cross-shareholders.
The company’s core business is air, sea, and road shipping, but it also offers end-to-end logistics solutions to other businesses.
It manages a fleet of nearly 800 ships, as well as over 42 million square feet of warehousing space across 240 locations in 27 countries.
Its numerous warehousing and distribution centers offer the following services:
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Warehouse storage
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Inventory processing (e.g., inspection, labeling, and sorting)
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IT-based inventory management
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Delivery by land, air, or sea.
Nippon Yusen owns and manages the Monohajovi Technology Institute, a leading development and research institute for the following fields:
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Supply-chain management
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IT-related distribution solutions
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Energy savings and efficiency
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CJ America. Seoul, South Korea
2019 Annual Revenue: $13.42 billion
CJ Logistics is the largest freight forwarding and contract logistics company in South Korea.
It was formed in 1930 and operated independently under the name Korea Express until 2012, when it was acquired by CJ GLS and was integrated as their logistics and shipping division.
In 2020, CJ Logistics USA and CJ Logistics Canada joined with DSC Logistics to form a single logistics company, managing over 30 million square feet of combined warehousing space.
The company’s main services include:
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Global transportation
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Freight forwarding
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Contract logistics
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Port logistics
CJ Logistics is currently focusing on increasing its e-commerce fulfillment capabilities.
2020 saw a sharp increase in the number of consumers buying goods online. This has caused demand for warehousing space to rise by multiples of that rate, as e-commerce companies need additional space to store those goods in the present and stay ahead of that growth in the future.
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- Services
- Largest Advertising Companies
- Largest Law Firms
- Largest Insurance Companies
- Largest For Profit Education Companies
- Largest Lobbyist Companies
- Largest Consulting Firms
- Largest Photography Companies
- Largest Engineering Companies
- Largest Marketing Companies
- Largest Multi Level Marketing Companies
- Largest HR Companies
- Largest PR Firms
- Largest Warehousing Companies
- Largest Waste Management Companies
- Largest Janitorial Companies
- Largest Temp Agencies
- Largest Security Companies
- Largest Recruiting Firms
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
