The top logistics companies in Europe are the driving force of business, and the unseen pillars that hold up the economy. Movement of goods and services is an essential part of commerce; it is essential to get the products where they are needed so as to satisfy the consumer needs.
By filling this essential need over time, these companies have gained a reputation for being some of the best logistics companies in the whole of Europe.
If timely delivery of goods in good condition is the priority; the following are some of the names that come to mind.
Top 100 Logistics Companies In Europe
1. Deutsche Post
More readily identified as DHL which is one of its subsidiaries; Deutsche Post DHL is one of the world’s largest logistics companies; it delivers 61 million letters every day, and its parcel delivery arm operates in 220 countries.
DHL -and its black trucks- is one of the world’s most recognizable brands. It operates mega hubs across the world including Germany, USA, china, and the Middle East. The company has expanded its operations in Europe; it bought UK Mail in the United Kingdom, and Streetscooter in Germany- the later to give it more capacity and choice in its delivery vehicles.
2. United Parcel Service
UPS is actually an American courier company; but it has grown to take a large chunk of the European market-share. The company established in 1907 in Seattle, Washington USA. It is now based in sandy springs, Georgia, USA.
UPS is the biggest courier company by revenue; and it has achieved this feat by winning the trust of the global market- including Europe.
UPS’s main international hub UPS Worldport is the fifth busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic.
3. FedEx
FedEx was formerly known as Federal Express, until 2010 when it adopted the hip form of its name FedEx. The company is an American courier and logistics company; which has become one of the biggest players in the international market.
FedEx is a publicly traded company; it was established in 1971. It has grown its business into a global brand through the acquisition of local subsidiaries so as to keep its competitors from stealing its market share. The UNITED KINGDOM is one of its biggest markets in Europe.
FedEx has 547,000 employees; a figure that is going to be hard for any courier company to beat.
4. A P Moller-Maersk
Maersk is a Danish shipping and logistics company; one of the most recognizable in the world. The company was established in 1904, and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Maersk is a mega company; one of the biggest logistics companies headquartered in Europe.
Maersk has around 110,000 employees worldwide, and it has operations in more than 130 countries of the world.
While the company is best known for its shipping division; it is also involved in logistics and freight forwarding, terminals management, ferry and tanker transport, semi-submersible drilling rigs, and so on.
5. DSV
Dsv is headquartered in Denmark; it is a shipping and logistics company which was founded in 1976. This company has made great progress in recent years by acquiring subsidiaries that have become key contributors to its revenue.
Some of the subsidiaries have become even more popular that the parent company. DSV employs more than 76,000 people. The company has operations in more 80 countries around the world.
6. Cosco Shipping Holdings
Cosco Shipping Holdings is one of the biggest shipping companies in the world; it has over 118,000 people on its payroll.
Cosco Shipping Holdings bought Piraeus port authority in in 2016; that is a major port handler in Greece.
The company has since undergone a series of restructuring moves to help it achieve more efficiency, and to get a bigger share in the world market.
7. S.F. Holding
S.F. Holding is a very large company in deed. The company, though based in china is a multinational logistics and shipping company with operations across the world. Aside from its fleets of vehicles and planes, the company also had its own drones designed so as to give it an edge over its competitors.
S.F holdings has a shopping subsidiary which has also been taint to the global market. This is a company with a strong, visionary management, and which is going to take the world by storm.
8. Kuehne + Nagel International
Kuehne + Nagel International is a Swiss shipping and logistics company which was established by German industrialist August Kuehne and his partner back in 1890. The company is still owned by the Kuehne and Nagel families, and the Honorary Chairman is Klaus Michael Kuehne; grandson of one of the founders.
The company has 78,000 employees, and offices in 160 countries. The company also has big subsidiaries all over the world; some of which engage in specific areas of business such as air shipments, shipping, logistics, and so on.
9. Mediterranean Shipping Company
Mediterranean Shipping Company is a Swiss multinational shipping and logistics company. With its yellow containers marked MSC; this is one of the most recognizable shipping companies in the world.
The company was actually founded in Italy, back in 1970, but has been headquartered in Switzerland since 1978.
The company owns 721 container vessels, and operates globally.
10. Panalpina
Panalpina is now DSV; it is a shipping company which was merged with DSV, and which subsequently became DSV Panalpina. The company had about 15,000 employees, and undertakes global shipping and logistics.
Having been absorbed into DSV the name was discontinued. However, it is still more popular than DSV.
The following is a more comprehensive list of the top logistics companies in Europe.
| Rank | Company | Headquarters |
| 1 | Deutsche Post DHL | Germany |
| 2 | United Parcel Service UPS | Georgia, USA |
| 3 | Fedex | USA |
| 4 | A P Moller-Maersk | Denmark |
| 5 | DSV | Denmark |
| 6 | Cosco Shipping Holdings | China |
| 7 | S.F. Holding | China |
| 8 | Kuehne + Nagel International | Switzerland |
| 9 | Mediterranean Shipping Company | Switzerland |
| 10 | Panalpina | Switzerland |
| 11 | American Airlines Group | United States |
| 12 | Delta Air Lines | United States |
| 13 | XPO | United States |
| 14 | C H Robinson Worldwide | United States |
| 15 | Nippon Yusen | Japan |
| 16 | DHL Supply Chain | Germany |
| 17 | Deutsche Lufthansa | Germany |
| 18 | Yamato Holdings | Japan |
| 19 | Hapag-Lloyd | Germany |
| 20 | International Distributions | United Kingdom |
| 21 | China Southern Airlines | China |
| 22 | Air France – Klm | France |
| 23 | Poste Italiane | Italy |
| 24 | Sinotrans | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 25 | Compania De Distribucion Integ | Spain |
| 26 | Xiamen Xinde | China |
| 27 | Bollore | France |
| 28 | Sg Holdings | Japan |
| 29 | Jd Logistics | China |
| 30 | Swire Pacific | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 31 | Atlantia | Italy |
| 32 | Expeditors International | United States |
| 33 | Qantas Airways | Australia |
| 34 | Mitsui Osk Lines | Japan |
| 35 | Firstgroup | United Kingdom |
| 36 | Tokyu | Japan |
| 37 | International Consolidated | United Kingdom |
| 38 | Ryder System | United States |
| 39 | Orient Overseas | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 40 | Evergreen Marine | Taiwan |
| 41 | Turk Hava Yollari | Turkey |
| 42 | Kintetsu Group Holdings | Japan |
| 43 | Kerry Logistics Network | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 44 | Korean Air Lines | South Korea |
| 45 | Hitachi Transport System | Japan |
| 46 | Cathay Pacific Airways | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 47 | Brenntag UNITED KINGDOM & Ireland | UNITED KINGDOM & Ireland |
| 48 | Seino Holdings | Japan |
| 49 | Carnival | United Kingdom |
| 50 | Mtr Corp. Ltd. | Hong Kong SAR China |
| 51 | Avis Budget Group | United States |
| 52 | Senko Group Holdings | Japan |
| 53 | Sankyu | Japan |
| 54 | Agility Public Warehousing | Kuwait |
| 55 | Hertz Global Holdings | United States |
| 56 | Latam Airlines Group | Chile |
| 57 | Yang Ming Marine Transport | Taiwan |
| 58 | Kintetsu World Express | Japan |
| 59 | Yto Express Group | China |
| 60 | Bpost | Belgium |
| 61 | Knight-Swift Transportation | United States |
| 62 | Japan Air Lines Company Ltd | Japan |
| 63 | Schneider National | United States |
| 64 | Yellow Corp | United States |
| 65 | Ceva Logistics | France |
| 66 | The Brink’s Company | United States |
| 67 | Alaska Air Group | United States |
| 68 | Bulkhaul | British |
| 69 | Nws Holdings Ltd. | Hong Kong SAR |
| 70 | APL Logistics | Japan |
| 71 | Wallenius Wilhelmsen | Norway |
| 72 | Jetblue Airways Corp. | United States |
| 73 | Ryanair Holdings | Ireland |
| 74 | Jet2 Plc | United Kingdom |
| 75 | Burris Logistics | United states |
| 76 | CJ Logistics | South korea |
| 77 | Clipper Logistics | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 78 | Crane Worldwide Logistics | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 79 | DPD Group | Germany |
| 80 | DSC Logistics | |
| 81 | Echo Global Logistics | United states |
| 82 | EV Cargo | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 83 | Fidelitone | United states |
| 84 | Freightliner | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 85 | GEFCO UNITED KINGDOM | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 86 | Geodis | France |
| 87 | GIST | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 88 | GlobalTranz Enterprises | United states |
| 89 | Great Bear Distribution | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 90 | Hapag-Lloyd NA. O.N. | German |
| 91 | Hermes | UNITED KINGDOM |
| 92 | Neovia Logistics | US |
| 93 | Hyundai Glovis | South korea |
| 94 | Ingram Micro Supply Chain | |
| 95 | Odyssey Logistics & Technology | United states |
| 96 | OIA Global | |
| 97 | Lineage Logistics | United kingdom |
| 98 | Mainfreight Limited | New Zealand |
| 99 | P&O Ferrymasters | Netherlands |
| 100 | United Airlines Holdings | United States |
| Menzies Distribution | United Kingdom and Ireland |
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Closing
The top logistics companies in Europe are not all headquartered in Europe; they just do much if not most of their business on the continent. If anything this list shows how lucrative logistics and shipping as a business can be; some of these companies have up to 500,000 employees, and a long list of subsidiary investments.