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NEWS & BLOG
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-10-16 Origin: Site
China’s international freight forwarding industry started late. Influenced by the planned economy in the early stage, it faces the problem of fragmented management (division by sectors/regions), leading to difficulties in resource coordination. Most enterprises are small to medium-sized, mainly private enterprises and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Policy-wise, the Chinese government drives industry development through initiatives like the "Belt and Road Initiative" and free trade zone construction. However, the industry has high concentration—state-owned or state-controlled enterprises account for 54.3% of the turnover among the top 100 enterprises.
In terms of regulations, China’s qualification requirements for freight forwarding enterprises are gradually aligning with international standards, but there is a lack of unified supervision. Some enterprises still face issues like vicious competition and single-service offerings.
The U.S. adopts a departmental management model. For example, maritime transportation is strictly supervised by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which requires freight forwarding enterprises to pay deposits and restricts commission rebates to ensure market standardization.
Europe promotes industry development through regional coordination and green policies. For instance, Germany’s DB Schenker cooperates with China via hubs like the Port of Hamburg, emphasizing an efficient and sustainable logistics network.
European and American enterprises generally focus on professional division of labor. Large freight forwarding companies such as UPS and DHL have formed end-to-end service capabilities through mergers and acquisitions, resulting in higher market concentration.
China has a large number of freight forwarding enterprises, but most are small in scale. In 2021, only 8 out of the top 100 enterprises had revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan. Leading enterprises like Sinotrans (ranking 2nd globally in freight forwarding) accelerate their global layout through mergers and acquisitions (e.g., acquiring Europe’s KLG Group), yet their profitability still lags behind European and American giants like UPS.
The industry has low gross profit margins. In 2022, the average gross profit margin of the industry was 6.62%; some enterprises (e.g., Zhongchuang Logistics) had a gross profit margin of only 1.75% in freight forwarding business, far lower than Feilida’s 5.16%.
European and American enterprises such as UPS and DHL have logistics networks covering over 220 countries and regions. UPS had annual revenue exceeding 97 billion U.S. dollars and a net profit of 12.89 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, far higher than Sinotrans’ 3.079 billion yuan.
These enterprises focus more on high-value-added services, such as supply chain finance and customized logistics solutions, and improve efficiency through digital technologies (e.g., UPS’ global electronic data network).
Chinese freight forwarding enterprises have increased digital investment in recent years. For example, Sinotrans launched its digital transformation in 2020, with R&D expenditure growing by 259.79% year-on-year. However, the proportion of R&D investment is still lower than that of European and American enterprises (e.g., Zhongchuang Logistics’ R&D investment accounts for only 0.03%).
Some enterprises (e.g., Cainiao Network) use the "Compliance Brain" system to realize real-time global policy monitoring; JD International applies AI to predict return risks. Nevertheless, the overall technology penetration rate remains low.
European and American enterprises have long invested in technology R&D. For example, UPS invests 1 billion U.S. dollars annually to build a global data network, enabling end-to-end visual tracking of packages; DHL improves last-mile efficiency through automated sorting and drone delivery.
They lead in green technology application: the Port of Hamburg in Germany promotes electric ships, reducing carbon emissions by 30%, while China’s green logistics technology market is still in the early stage.
Chinese enterprises focus on expanding in Southeast Asia and Africa. For example, Sinotrans connects the European market via China-Europe Railway Express (operating 1,580 trains in 2020), but the density of overseas networks remains insufficient.
Cross-border e-commerce drives growth, but affected by U.S. tariff policies (e.g., a 10% tariff hike on Chinese goods in 2025), cross-border parcel logistics faces cost pressure.
European and American enterprises occupy the market through self-owned hubs (e.g., UPS’ 1,748 distribution centers) and localized services. For instance, DHL reduces last-mile costs through the "community delivery" model in Europe, while Chinese enterprises mostly rely on third-party cooperation in European and American markets.
Geopolitics has a significant impact: these enterprises pay more attention to supply chain resilience. For example, DB Schenker optimizes the Europe-China trade route through the China-Europe Express (26-day direct route).
Shortcomings: Insufficient global networks, low technology investment, and limited service added value.
Opportunities: Deepen regional cooperation relying on the "Belt and Road Initiative," enhance overseas capabilities through mergers and acquisitions (e.g., Sinotrans’ acquisition of KLG), and gain policy support for multimodal transport and green logistics.
Advantages: Technological barriers, brand premium, and end-to-end service capabilities.
Risks: Trade protectionism (e.g., U.S. tariff policies) and supply chain fluctuations (e.g., the Russia-Ukraine conflict) impact profitability.
