Kuehne+Nagel Group
Assembly Line
🚚 Drayage evolving as new business models emerge
IMC Logistics is one of the largest drayage providers in the US. On November 14th the company announced that it was entering into a strategic partnership with one of its longtime customers, the Swiss mega-logistics provider Kuehne+Nagel Group, who will acquire 51% of the company, when the deal is finalized, likely in the first quarter of 2025.
Of course, in a copycat industry where one move by a company most assuredly leads to another company making a similar move, will K+N’s purchase lead to other similarly placed logistics providers doing the same — particularly since drayage has morphed into third-party-logistics (3PLS) providers.
There are a number of both domestic and international logistics companies competing in the same space. International 3PLS like DHL, DSV (which acquired DB Shenker earlier this year), CEVA, Nippon Express, DP World Logistics, GEODIS and Hellmann Worldwide all have reasons to follow suit. And there are a number of well positioned domestic players like CH Robinson, Expeditors, Penske or Ryder that could take a run at the drayage business. The prevailing 3PL business model favors being asset-light on the transportation side and asset-heavy on the transactional portion. Beyond the 3PLs other supply chain providers have dipped their oars into the drayage business. Take for example, MEDLOG USA. MEDLOG USA is the domestic arm of MEDLOG which is part of the Geneva, Switzerland-based MSC Group (Mediterranean Shipping Company), which notably includes MSC Shipping, the world’s largest containership operator. MEDLOG operates independently and is a specialist in intermodal transportation solutions. That logistics package includes among other services door-to-door solutions, off the dock storage and intermodal transportation that incorporates drayage. MEDLOG USA illustrates just how competition in the drayage sector is evolving as more players within the supply chain work to increase their service reach.