Australian logistics is shaped by distance and by concentration. Two stevedores handle most of the container trade, one rail operator dominates bulk haulage, and a handful of privately owned road groups move the rest across some of the longest domestic lanes in the developed world. The landscape shifted again in August 2025, when DP World Australia completed its acquisition of Silk Logistics and turned itself from a stevedore into a port-to-door operator. This 2026 guide profiles ten providers with the strongest footprint in Australia, listed in no particular order, drawn from company reporting, ASX filings and regulatory decisions.
How we chose this list
This is an editorial guide, compiled from public sources such as annual reports, company accounts, regulatory filings and trade media, rather than from paid placements or our own directory data. We weighed four things:
- Scale in Australia: revenue, sites, fleet and employees based in the country.
- Breadth of services: freight forwarding, contract logistics, haulage, parcels and terminal operations.
- Track record: years operating in Australia and publicly verifiable results.
- Network: domestic coverage plus international connections.
Figures are the most recent publicly reported at the time of writing. The companies appear in no particular order. A provider further down the page may well be the better fit for your specific lane or freight type.
The 10 companies at a glance
| Company | Type | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Linfox | Contract logistics | Australia's largest privately owned supply chain operator |
| Australia Post | National carrier and parcels | The universal delivery network, plus StarTrack for B2B express |
| Team Global Express | Parcel and freight carrier | The main privately owned national alternative to Australia Post |
| Qube Holdings | Integrated logistics | The largest integrated import and export logistics provider |
| Patrick Terminals | Container terminal operator | Australia's largest container terminal operator |
| DP World Australia | Stevedore and port-to-door logistics | The other half of the container stevedoring duopoly, now with landside operations |
| Aurizon | Rail freight | Australia's largest rail freight operator |
| Toll Group | Forwarder and contract logistics | The Australian-founded global forwarder, now Japan Post owned |
| K&S Corporation | Road transport and fuel distribution | Listed specialist in bulk fuel and dangerous goods |
| DHL Supply Chain Australia | Global contract logistics | The largest global contract logistics operator in the market |
Linfox
Linfox states that it employs more than 24,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, runs over 200 warehouses and distribution centres, and moves more than 60 billion dollars of goods a year on a fleet it describes as 5,000 strong. It is family-owned and does not publish audited revenue, so treat any figure circulating on data aggregators with caution.
In 2025 it took delivery of what was then Australia's largest heavy-duty electric truck order, 30 electric prime movers, with the first ten going to its Willawong distribution centre in Queensland.
Best for: large-scale dedicated warehousing and line-haul contracts, particularly grocery, retail and resources.
Australia Post
Australia Post reported group revenue of 9.45 billion Australian dollars for the year to 30 June 2025, with parcels and services revenue of 7.64 billion and a group profit before tax of 18.8 million. The letters business lost 230.4 million, which is the structural problem behind every restructuring story you read about it.
Its scale is the reason it appears on most shortlists: more than 2.2 billion items delivered, 12.8 million delivery points, 4,118 post offices and over 5,000 electric vehicles and bikes. Parcel income reached a record 8.01 billion in 2025/26.
Best for: B2C parcel delivery to any Australian address, and StarTrack for palletised B2B express.
Team Global Express
Team Global Express is the former Toll Global Express, bought by Allegro Funds in a sale that completed on 1 September 2021 and rebranded from September 2022. Note that date: secondary sources frequently place the transaction in 2024, which is wrong.
It reports over 8,500 people, more than 650 depots and service hubs across Australia and New Zealand, and over 100 million items a year across road, rail, air and sea. Christine Holgate moved from chief executive to group executive chairman in June 2025, with Nick Stratford taking the Australian CEO role.
Best for: national B2B express freight and palletised distribution outside the Australia Post network.
Qube Holdings
Qube reported underlying revenue up 27.3% to 4.46 billion Australian dollars for the year to 30 June 2025, with underlying profit after tax and amortisation up 6.2% to 288.0 million. It employs roughly 10,000 people across more than 200 locations in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
It spans bulk stevedoring, rail, landside container logistics and warehousing, and holds a 50% interest in Patrick Terminals, which makes it unusually vertically integrated for this market.
Ownership has changed. A consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management acquired Qube at 5.20 Australian dollars per share, valuing it at roughly 11.7 billion. The scheme completed on 14 August 2026 and Qube was removed from the ASX official list on 20 August 2026, so it is no longer a listed company.
Best for: bulk commodity handling and landside container logistics, especially where port and inland legs need one provider.
Patrick Terminals
Patrick runs automated straddle-carrier terminals at the four largest container ports: Brisbane, Sydney's Port Botany, Melbourne and Fremantle, with over four kilometres of quay line, 25 quay cranes and more than 130 straddle carriers.
It is the largest stevedore by volume, handling 2.2 million container lifts in 2024/25, roughly 40% of the national total of 5.50 million, against DP World's 2.0 million or about 36%, on the ACCC's figures. It remains a 50/50 joint venture between Qube and Brookfield, dating from the 2016 break-up of Asciano, though Brookfield and its co-investors sold and restructured their half in December 2025 in a transaction implying an enterprise value above 6.6 billion Australian dollars.
Best for: container terminal capacity at the major ports; relevant to shippers as the operator determining berth productivity.
DP World Australia
DP World Australia operates container terminals at Port Botany, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle, handling roughly one third of the containers processed at those four ports, alongside empty container parks and a container transport fleet.
It completed its acquisition of Silk Logistics in August 2025, after the ACCC decided on 4 July 2025 not to oppose the deal, which had been announced in November 2024 at around 174.5 million Australian dollars. It handled 2.0 million container lifts in 2024/25, about 36% of the national total. That added 46 facilities across five states and turned DP World from a stevedore into a port-to-door operator. It has also committed 400 million dollars with NSW Ports to expand the Port Botany rail terminal.
Best for: container stevedoring, and now integrated port-to-door container transport and warehousing.
Aurizon
Aurizon reported underlying revenue and other income of 4,194 million Australian dollars for the year to 30 June 2026, with underlying EBITDA up 9% to 1,724 million and underlying profit after tax up 24% to 433 million.
It transports more than 250 million tonnes of Australian commodities a year and owns the Central Queensland Coal Network, roughly 2,700 kilometres of track connecting more than 40 mines to five export terminals.
Best for: bulk commodity rail haulage and intermodal rail between capital cities.
Toll Group
Toll has been owned by Japan Post since 2015. Since selling its domestic parcels arm in 2021 it is an international freight forwarding and contract logistics business rather than a domestic express carrier, which is a distinction many shippers still get wrong.
It reports more than 14,000 team members across 300 sites, with a forwarding network covering more than 140 countries.
Best for: international forwarding out of Australia and contract logistics, rather than domestic parcels.
K&S Corporation
K&S reported operating revenue of 744.8 million Australian dollars for the year to 30 June 2025, down 9.7%, with net profit after tax of 39.3 million.
Its niche is bulk fuel distribution, dangerous goods and regional general freight across Australia and New Zealand, which is specialised work that the large generalists often subcontract.
Best for: bulk fuel, dangerous goods and regional freight where compliance matters more than price.
DHL Supply Chain Australia
DHL Supply Chain is the most visible investor in Australian warehouse automation, with developments through 2025 forming part of a 150 million dollar regional investment in robotics, including goods-to-person picking at its Horningsea Park site in New South Wales.
It has also invested over 46 million dollars in what it describes as the largest automated life sciences warehouse footprint in the southern hemisphere, and opened a 21,078 square metre facility at Erskine Park in western Sydney in 2026. DHL does not break out Australian country revenue.
Best for: outsourced warehousing and distribution, particularly life sciences, retail and technology.
How to choose between them
The right provider depends less on overall size than on fit with your freight and lane:
- Domestic parcels and e-commerce: Australia Post for universal reach, Team Global Express for a private-network alternative.
- Warehousing and fulfilment: Linfox for large dedicated contracts, DHL Supply Chain for automation and life sciences.
- Containers through the ports: Patrick and DP World are the two stevedores; DP World now also covers the landside leg.
- Bulk and rail: Aurizon for rail haulage, Qube for bulk stevedoring and integrated port logistics.
- Specialised freight: K&S for bulk fuel and dangerous goods, Toll for international forwarding.
Whoever you shortlist, get more than one quote, because rates for the same lane can vary widely, and confirm licences, insurance coverage and references for your specific freight type. Our guide to the best websites to find a freight forwarder covers how to run that comparison, and the credentials you can check yourself covers verifying them.
Compare Australia logistics providers in one place
The ten companies above are the biggest names, but they are not always the best-priced option for a specific shipment, and independent forwarders often handle SME import and export work more attentively than the majors. CargoLinked's directory lists 324 logistics companies and freight forwarders based in Australia, which you can browse by service and location. If you have cargo to move, you can also post your shipment for free and collect quotes from interested forwarders instead of contacting providers one by one.
