Ocean Freight Forwarding Market Size, Share, Growth, and Industry Analysis, By Type (LCL, FCL, Others), By Service (Agricultural, Automotive, Beverage, Electronic, and Others), Regional Insights and Forecast From 2025 To 2033

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OCEAN FREIGHT FORWARDING MARKET REPORT OVERVIEW

The global ocean freight forwarding market size was valued at USD 136.95 billion in 2024 and is projected to touch USD 266.60 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period from 2025 To 2033.

An ocean freight forwarder is a person or company who acts as an intermediary, dispatching shipments via common sea carriers and making all necessary arrangements on behalf of its clients. Ocean freight forwarders handle all logistics and related activities related to shipments and in charge of transporting goods from one location to another.

Shippers can benefit from the most cost-effective freight rates offered by the ocean shipping industry, particularly when traveling long distances. The ability of shipping companies to handle oversized, heavy, or bulky cargo is a significant advantage of ocean freight forwarding. Large vehicles, machinery, building supplies, and other items could be part of this cargo. Increase in international trade volume by ocean, growth of e-commerce platforms are all driving the ocean freight forwarding market forward.

COVID-19 IMPACT

"Pandemic Decreased the Demand for Ocean Freight Forwarding"

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with the ocean freight forwarding market experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. The sudden rise in CAGR is attributable to the market's growth and demand returning to pre-pandemic levels once the pandemic is over.

Global supply chains were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Manufacturing firms ceased all operations, and numerous businesses remained closed until government officials issued reopening instructions. The spread of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the ocean freight forwarding market, as numerous nations implemented travel restrictions in an effort to slow its spread. Local authorities prohibited many ships from docking at ports. As a result, many merchant sailors were blocked on the ship itself. Ship owners had to pay additional fees because their ships were trapped in territorial waters for a long period of time. Additionally, as a result of the outbreak, ship movement was restricted, necessitating the renewal of employment contracts for a large number of seafarers. Further, there has been a decrease in the import and export of goods and products in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading which reduced demand for ocean freight forwarding.

LATEST TRENDS

"Rising Demand for Ocean Transportation to Fuel Market Growth"

The growth of market can be attributed to various factors such as the rising demand for ocean transportation, growing cost of air freight and emergence of Artificial Intelligence (ai). For instance, Windward, a Predictive Intelligence company based in Israel, introduced its Ocean Freight Visibility solution in February 2022. The new system provides accurate ETA projections, disruption risk predictions, delay causes, and location-based insights for containerized freight while also enabling freight forwarders to increase productivity and scalability through automated data collection and analysis. By keeping track of significant shipment disruptions that have an effect on container ETAs, users of Windward's Ocean Freight Visibility solution can enter their containers and proactively reduce risks. All these factors are responsible for market growth.

OCEAN FREIGHT FORWARDING MARKET SEGMENTATION

By Type

According to type, the market can be segmented into LCL, FCL and others.

In terms of product, LCL is the largest segment.

By Application

Based on service, the market can be divided into agricultural, automotive, beverage, electronic and others.

In terms of application, the largest application is Electronic.

DRIVING FACTORS

"Rise in International Trade Volume to Boost Market Demand"

The freight forwarding market is experiencing significant expansion as a result of rising volumes of international trade. Services and goods are traded between nations through international trade. Through trade, consumers and nations will have access to goods and services that are either unavailable or more expensive domestically. The transportation of goods is organized by freight forwarders on behalf of shippers, and an increase in trade volume will boost ocean freight forwarding market growth.

"Growth of E-commerce to Stimulate Market Expansion"

E-commerce is a type of online retailing in which products and services are sold through websites without the use of a physical location. Logistics services are used by e-commerce businesses to manage and supervise their supply chains, allowing these businesses to concentrate on marketing and other business functions. It is a popular way to buy a wide range of products because of its easy accessibility, convenient shopping experience, and substantial discounts and offers. In addition, freight forwarders have been forced to adopt digital technologies as a result of the growth of the e-commerce industry in order to meet the growing demands of customers. As a result, demand for ocean freight forwarding is expected to grow in the forecast period.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

"Increase in Freight Cost to Hinder Growth of Market "

The main shipping routes' ocean freight rates have increased as a result of the global container shortage, which persists. Products of lower value like household goods, toys, promotional items, and t-shirts have seen an increase in their freight costs. The market's expansion may also be hampered by an increase in the cost of ship maintenance and a rise in shipment delays caused by adverse weather.

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OCEAN FREIGHT FORWARDING MARKET REGIONAL INSIGHTS

"Growing Demand in Asia-Pacific Anticipated to Boost Market Development"

Due to the presence of major economies like China and India and growing logistics in ASEAN nations, Asia-Pacific holds the leading position in ocean freight forwarding market share. The region's high level of government support for the logistics industry is another factor driving industry expansion. The main elements to contribute to the industry growth in Asia-Pacific are rise in demand for low-cost cargo transportation methods and quicker integration of technology into the logistics process.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

"Key Players' Adoption of Novel Strategies is driving Market Expansion"

Prominent market players are making collaborative efforts by partnering with other companies to stay ahead of the competition. Many companies are also investing in new product launches to expand their product portfolio.

The top key players in the marketare Kuehne + Nagel, DHL Group, DB Schenker Logistics, GEODIS, Panalpina, DSV, Bolloré Logistics and Expeditors. The strategies to develop new technologies, capital investment in R&D, improve product quality, acquisitions, mergers, and compete for the market competition help them to perpetuate their position and value in the market. Besides, collaboration with other companies & extensive possession over market shares by the key players stimulates market demand.

List of Top Ocean Freight Forwarding Companies

• Kuehne + Nagel
• DHL Group
• DB Schenker Logistics
• GEODIS
• Panalpina
• DSV
• Bolloré Logistics
• Expeditors
• Nippon Express
• CEVA Logistics
• Pantos Logistics
• Agility Logistics
• Hellmann
• Damco
• KWE
• Hitachi Transport
• Sankyu
• Kerry Logistics
• Logwin
• C.H.Robinson
• Yusen Logistics

REPORT COVERAGE

This report examines an understanding of the ocean freight forwarding market’s size, share, and growth rate, segmentation by type, application, key players, and previous and current market scenarios. The report also collects the market’s precise data and forecasts by market experts. Also, it describes the study of this industry’s financial performance, investments, growth, innovation marks, and new product launches by the top companies and offers deep insights into the current market structure, competitive analysis based on key players, key driving forces, and restraints that affect the demand for growth, opportunities, and risks.

Furthermore, the post-COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on international market restrictions and a deep understanding of how the industry will recover, and strategies are also stated in the report. The competitive landscape has also been examined in detail to provide clarification of the competitive landscape.

This report also discloses the research based on methodologies that define price trend analysis of target companies, collection of data, statistics, target competitors, import-export, information, and previous years’ records based on market sales. Moreover, all the significant factors which influence the market such as small or medium business industry, macro-economic indicators, value chain analysis, and demand-side dynamics, with all the major business players have been explained in detail. This analysis is subject to modification if the key players and feasible analysis of market dynamics change.