10.2.3.2Vertical

Full Truckload Brokerage

Brokers arranging FTL shipments between shippers and carriers.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Domestic Freight Brokerage (10.2.3), the segment that Full Truckload Brokerage sits within. They are not figures for Full Truckload Brokerage on its own.

FragmentationFragmentedEstimate

Not sized separately. One classification covers freight arrangement of every kind. Domestic brokerage, international forwarding, customs work and ocean booking all sit in it together, so the figure belongs to the parent. Domestic brokerage is nonetheless the most contested of them: it is the segment digital entrants attacked first, because matching a load to a truck is the part of forwarding that looks most like software.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Truckload/LTL brokerage margin (rate spread)

Key economics

Recurring revenue
Moderate

recurring shippers; spot exposure

EBITDA margin
Asset-light; highly cyclical margins
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Led by C.H. Robinson, TQL, Echo, Coyote.
  • Highly cyclical; squeezed in the 2023–24 recession.
  • Technology and carrier networks the key assets.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Brokerage majors
  • PE-backed brokerage platforms
  • Digital-freight disruptors

What’s driving deals

  • Freight-recession-driven consolidation.
  • Technology and automation investment.
  • Roll-up of fragmented brokers.

Find Full Truckload Brokerage acquisition targets

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