Freight Forwarding, Customs Brokerage and Contract Logistics

Most of the world's freight is bought not from the ship, plane or truck that carries it but from an intermediary who arranges it: a freight forwarder that books space with carriers, consolidates shipments, prepares documents, clears customs and delivers to the door; a customs broker licensed to file entries and pay duties on the importer's behalf; or a contract-logistics provider (a "3PL") that runs warehouses and transport under multi-year contracts. These are asset-light businesses whose reported revenue is mostly someone else's: a forwarder's "revenue" includes the ocean and air freight it buys and resells, so in a rate boom revenue balloons while the forwarder's own earnings — its gross profit or net revenue after purchased transportation — rise far less. C.H. Robinson's Global Forwarding segment shows the gap in one quarter: Q3 2026 revenue of ~$1.15bn (+46% y/y) against adjusted gross profit of ~$221m (+15%) (company 8-K, 28 Oct 2026). The industry consolidated sharply: DSV, built by acquisitions since 1976, bought DB Schenker for ~€14.3bn (closed 30 Apr 2025, reported) and reported 2025 revenue of ~DKK 247bn, gross profit ~DKK 67bn and EBIT before special items ~DKK 19.6bn (company, reported), with Schenker integration to be completed by end-2026; Kuehne+Nagel, the largest sea forwarder, reported 2025 net turnover of ~CHF 24.5bn, EBIT of ~CHF 1.4bn and earnings down ~25% to ~CHF 925m, and launched a ~CHF 200m cost programme (reported). The forwarders' 2021–22 windfall, when congestion made space scarce and margins per container soared, was followed by a 2023–25 normalisation. Customs brokerage became the industry's growth engine in 2025–26 as US tariff authorities changed four times — IEEPA tariffs (2025), struck down on 20 Feb 2026; Section 122 (24 Feb–24 Jul 2026); a new Section 301 regime (from 24 Jul 2026) — with IEEPA refunds ordered by the Court of International Trade from Mar 2026 and de minimis suspended for all countries since 29 Aug 2025. Contract logistics (DHL Supply Chain, GXO, Ryder, CEVA and others) is a different business: labour-intensive warehouse operations whose risk is a lease that outlives the contract. This section explains how forwarders, NVOCCs, customs brokers and 3PLs make money, gross versus net revenue, licensing (CBP, FMC, IATA), consolidation, technology and the tariff-era boom.