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Nippon Express buys European logistics firm Cargo-Partner

Combination diversifies geographic coverage, increases airfreight competitiveness

Cargo-Partner is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. This warehouse is located near the airport in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo: Cargo-Partner)

Nippon Express, the seventh-largest third-party logistics provider in the world by gross revenue, has agreed to acquire Austrian logistics company Cargo-Partner for up to $1.5 billion, advancing its strategy to become a global mega-freight forwarder. 

The deal announced Friday significantly strengthens Nippon Express Group’s network in Europe, especially the growing manufacturing regions in central and eastern countries, and increases its ocean and air forwarding volumes. Greater access to Europe and other regions provides a counterbalance to projections for Japan’s domestic logistics market to remain stagnant due to a shrinking population and government policies.

Publicly listed Nippon Express said it will pay 845 million euros ($924 million) in cash for Cargo-Partner and its subsidiaries, followed by cash payments of up to $607 million based on the target companies reaching certain financial thresholds. The deal is expected to close between November and May, subject to various regulatory approvals.

Nippon Express’ gross revenue was more than $21 billion last year, with 29% of business coming from overseas sales compared to 20% in 2019. The company, which has more than 73,400 employees at 760 locations, forecasts revenue will decline to $18 billion this year amid a global economic slowdown and weak shipping demand, with international sales increasing to 30%. It is targeting an overseas sales ratio of 40% by 2028, with half of sales from outside Japan by 2037. 

Management-owned Cargo-Partner, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, has 4,000 employees in 40 countries, including the United States. In 2022, it generated $2.2 billion in gross revenue, more than double its sales two years earlier, with operating income of $77.6 million. In addition to primary forwarding business, Cargo-Partner also arranges intermodal rail shipping and provides warehousing services. 

It will continue to operate under its own brand within Nippon Express. 


The acquisition of Cargo-Partner strengthens Nippon Express’ ability to provide a suite of logistics services between Asia and Europe. 

The combination gives both companies greater global office coverage, specialty services, information technology resources and global scale, with Cargo-Partner gaining a considerable presence in the intra-Asia and trans-Pacific markets. Nippon Express and Cargo-Partner said the transaction is complementary because of their different customer bases and geographic strongholds.

Tokyo-based Nippon Express in January acquired two freight forwarders based in Italy. In 2020 it bought U.S.-based MD Logistics, a pharmaceutical industry specialist.

Nippon Express moved 870,000 tons of cargo by air in 2022, making it the seventh-largest air freight forwarder by volume. It envisions becoming No. 2 in the world, after Kuehne+Nagel, by 2037. Nippon Express and Cargo-Partner combined would vault to No. 11 in rank among ocean freight agents, according to research by Armstrong & Associates and Transport Topics.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Contact Eric: [email protected]

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, he was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. Eric is based in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached for comments and tips at [email protected]