North America's largest logistics firms stall on revenue as freight market drags into 2026

Amazon.com Inc. posted an estimated $156.1 billion in gross logistics revenue in the 2025 cycle, putting it so far ahead of every other provider on the list that the rest of the ranking effectively competes in a separate tier. That figure, published in Transport Topics' 2025 Top 100 Logistics report, is more than nine times the gross revenue of No. 2-ranked C.H. Robinson, which came in at an estimated $16.8 billion.

The broader picture is less dramatic. Transport Topics notes that a stubbornly slow freight market recovery held back growth for many of North America's largest logistics firms, with trade uncertainty adding another layer of pressure. For operators managing carrier and 3PL relationships, that environment is reshaping which firms are worth a closer look and which are quietly losing ground.

Rank shifts that matter for vendor evaluation

GXO Logistics made one of the more notable moves at the top of the list, rising from No. 5 in 2024 to No. 3 in 2025 with $11.7 billion in gross revenue and a reported 105,000 employees. J.B. Hunt Transport Services slipped one spot to No. 4 at an estimated $11.4 billion, and UPS Supply Chain Solutions held at No. 5 with an estimated $11.2 billion, according to Transport Topics.

Further down, a few firms posted significant climbs. Scotlynn jumped from No. 70 to No. 40 with $1.73 billion in gross revenue. AIT Worldwide Logistics moved from No. 35 to No. 28, reporting $2.6 billion. Flexport rose from No. 42 to No. 33. On the other side, Kuehne + Nagel's North American operations fell from No. 6 to No. 8, and Uber Freight dropped from No. 12 to No. 14 at $5.1 billion in gross revenue.

Ocean freight volume: a separate scorecard

The overall revenue ranking only tells part of the story for supply chain teams that move goods by sea. Transport Topics' 2023 ocean freight forwarder sub-ranking, which measures container volumes globally, showed a different hierarchy. Kuehne + Nagel led that list with 4.39 million ocean containers, followed by Sinotrans at 3.89 million and DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding at 3.29 million.

DSV A/S ranked fourth globally on ocean containers at 2.67 million, while DB Schenker came in fifth at 1.94 million. C.H. Robinson, which dominates the North American revenue table, ranked seventh on ocean volume at 1.43 million containers, per Transport Topics. That gap between revenue rank and ocean volume rank signals how differently these firms are structured, and why a shipper's evaluation criteria should match its actual freight mix.

Flexibility as the operating imperative

Transport Topics describes logistics providers in 2025 as focused on staying nimble and building resilient supply chains, characterizing it as more important than ever in a volatile business environment. That framing has direct implications for how procurement and operations teams structure multi-provider strategies rather than relying on a single 3PL relationship.

The employee figures in the 2025 ranking also give a rough proxy for operational footprint. GXO's 105,000 employees contrast sharply with Armada Sunset Holdings at just 997 and Landstar System at roughly 900, the latter operating largely through an agent-based model that keeps headcount lean. DHL Supply Chain North America, at an estimated 52,000 employees, and Capstone Logistics at 22,000, show the range of labor intensity across warehousing-heavy providers.

For supply chain leaders reassessing provider portfolios heading into the back half of 2026, the ranking's rank-movement data is arguably more useful than the absolute revenue figures. Firms that climbed sharply, like Scotlynn, AIT, and Flexport, are adding capacity or capability; those that slipped may be rebalancing their service mix. The next version of the Transport Topics ocean freight sub-ranking, which will reflect 2024 and 2025 volumes, will show whether the container-volume leaders have held their positions through the continued market turbulence.