Top 20 Warehouses 2019

Editors’ Note: This story has been updated to reflect Lineage Logistics’ acquisition of Preferred Freezer Services and Americold’s acquisition of Cloverleaf Cold Storage. Since publication, IARW has updated its numbers and the cold storage chart has been updated accordingly.

The North American market for value-added warehousing enjoyed an unusually robust year in 2018 after growing 8% to $43.3 billion, a growth rate spike not seen in nearly a decade. These are among the findings of 3PL consultancy and market research firm Armstrong & Associates, which compiles a list of the top North American warehousing companies. Each company has either provided square footage information or enough public information for Armstrong & Associates to make a reasonable estimate.

Typically, the market’s cumulative annual growth rate is in the ballpark of 2.5% to 3%, according to Dick Armstrong, chair of Armstrong & Associates, who anticipates a return to normalcy in 2020.

“We look for a decent year for value-added warehousing in 2020, even though any sector you look at is backing off, whether it’s intermodal, trucking, or the fact that there’s quite a bit of capacity available for the spot market,” Armstrong says. “It’s still going to be a good year, just not a great year.”

Armstrong doesn’t expect a lot of consolidation in the near future, aside from large companies acquiring smaller niche players that are easy to add on. For now, the biggest question mark is the economy.

The Top 10

Continuing a tradition dating back to its days as Exel, DHL remains the No. 1 position as the largest 3PL warehouser in North America.

In second place is XPO, which Armstrong says has “grown to the point where they’re really a significant player,” primarily through purchases. By contrast, third-place Ryder’s growth is the result of a significant amount of organic growth.

“Ryder is now at a point where 36% of their business is automotive, down from 60% back in 2010,” Armstrong says. “Now, 36% of their business is retail and consumer goods, so they’ve really shifted their emphasis dramatically. It hasn’t made much difference on profitability, because they are profitable and continue to grow.”

Geodis, in 4th place, has achieved double-digit growth for the second consecutive year following its acquisition of OHL, which ranked 7th on the 2016 list. Geodis, Armstrong says, has “became a major player in the United States.”

NFI’s reported storage figures grew nearly 20% to make it the largest privately held company, of which there are a few on the list, including Saddle Creek. Armstrong says all these companies continue to grow at a reasonable pace.

Americold retained 6th place, but FedEx remains close behind and Lineage is gaining on them both.

Armstrong grew wistful when recalling FedEx’s 2015 acquisition of Genco. “Genco was such a fantastic operation, and now I’ve lost my standard bearer,” he says. “If you were going to compare to somebody, compare to Genco.”

Kenco held on to No. 9, but its new neighbor Penske climbed two ranks to break into the Top 10 following what Armstrong called “good growth in line with the other standard players.”

Last year, Armstrong predicted 3PLs will move toward automated load acceptance as they continue to digitize load management. In the coming years, he predicts it will become increasingly common for shippers to list loads electronically. Before long, he suggests, as much as 80% of loads will be handled that way, as compared to the current 20% to 30% at best. The benefit for transportation managers, Armstrong adds, is that automated load management will enable each person to effectively handle four to five times as many loads as they are now.

This year’s Top 20 list includes a few strong performances, but Armstrong made a point to focus on the 21st company, Radial. Formed in 2016 from the merger of Innotrac Corp. and the enterprise services unit of eBay Enterprise, Radial was acquired in November 2017 by bpost (Belgian Post Group) and has since developed strong e-commerce capabilities.

The company has 30 warehouses; more than $1 billion in revenue; 6,000 employees; and is publicly owned. Operating across Europe, Canada and the United States, Radial’s customers include Ann Taylor, Bath and Body Works, CenturyLink, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Godiva and J. Crew. The company’s major warehouses are in the Louisville area, where UPS has its hub.

“I think Radial has a very modern management orientation in its pursuit of e-commerce and a lot of work with retailers who are pretty cutting-edge. Radial has robots, and is also good at temp employment. The Christmas rush hits them pretty heavy, but they manage it well,” Armstrong says. “As we see more robotics and more AI, it wouldn’t surprise me to see more companies with this sort of profile climb the list.”

Top North American refrigerated warehouses

The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW), a core partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), has released the association’s annual Global Top 25 List of the largest temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics members.

Accompanying the IARW Global Top 25 is the IARW North American Top 25 List and a list of the largest operators in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Europe, reflecting the strength of the cold chain in both regions. The lists are determined by total capacity of temperature-controlled space in IARW membership.

IARW members currently own or operate 5.54 billion cubic feet (156.83 million cubic meters). A total capacity of 399.6 million cubic feet was added to the Global Top 25 as a result of growth as well as mergers and acquisitions.

“We continue to see the evolution of the Top 25 list as a result of consolidation in the industry,” said GCCA president and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “Each year, company rankings shift with new companies coming on the list, including companies that didn’t even exist a few years ago.”

[Editors’ Note: This story has been updated to reflect the acquisitions below.]

Lineage Logistics acquired Preferred Freezer Services in February 2019, adding 390 million cubic feet to its total and becoming the largest cold storage operator in the world.

In April, Americold announced an agreement to acquire Cloverleaf Cold Storage for $1.24 billion. The company was in the process of merging with Zero Mountain Cold Storage, which previously placed 14th on the list with 38 million square feet, employs 427 people and operates five facilities in Arkansas. This year, Americold’s figures reflect its acquisition of Cloverleaf and Zero Mountain.

The Global Top 25 currently operates 4.24 billion cubic feet (120.15 million cubic meters). The North American Top 25 operates 3.17 billion cubic feet (88.49 million cubic meters). The European Top 10 operates 791.26 million cubic feet (22.40 million cubic meters). The Latin American Top 10 operates 241.67 million cubic feet (6.84 million cubic meters).

Regions worldwide reported increased capacity and several new companies joined IARW in the past year.

• Latin America increased by 6.22 million cubic feet.
• Europe increased by 126.6 million cubic feet.
• North America increased by 374.53 million cubic feet.
• Global has increased by 399.6 million cubic feet.

GCCA membership includes more than 1,300 temperature-controlled facilities and members in more than 80 countries. Warehouse members offer a range of logistics solutions, including storage, transportation, processing, blast freezing, exports, and more. A complete listing of all warehouse members can be found in the Global Cold Chain Directory, which is available for free (gcca.org/about/global-cold-chain-directory).global-cold-chain-directory).