Each year Inc. magazine publishes its "Inc. 5000" list of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. Among the categories the publication tracks is "logistics and transportation"—a category that includes passenger transportation as well as freight. Rankings are based on revenue growth over the past three years.
This year's list of logistics and transportation companies—151 in all—included both well-known names and newcomers that aren't yet on most shippers' radar screens. The highest-ranked company was Florida-based BlueGrace Logistics—number 20 on the overall list, with an astonishing 7,378-percent growth over the past three years and annual revenue of $63.6 million. Another high flyer at number 65 was CargoBarn, a California company with $7 million in annual revenue. We must confess: We were familiar with only one of the logistics and transportation companies in the top 1,000—Load Delivered Logistics (no. 654), a technology-focused 3PL that has realized 550-percent revenue growth since 2008.
Farther down the list were plenty of familiar names—more established companies that are long past the breakneck growth stage often seen with startups. They included Genco ATC (no. 2,476, 98-percent growth); enVista (2,632, 90 percent); Red Arrow Logistics (2,803, 82 percent); Barrett Distribution Centers (2,978, 74 percent); M33 Integrated Solutions (3,505, 53 percent); England Logistics (3,668, 47 percent); Saddle Creek Logistics Services (3,809, 42 percent); and Seko Logistics (4,617, 18 percent).
