Hong Kong's two gateways are moving in opposite directions. Container throughput fell for a fourth straight year in 2025, down 5.1% to 12.995 million TEU, with Modern Terminals attributing part of the decline to Chinese exporters redirecting shipments to ASEAN and Europe. Hong Kong International Airport did the opposite: it handled 5.07 million tonnes of cargo, up 2.7%, and was crowned the world's busiest cargo airport for the fifteenth time since 2010. One misconception worth correcting before it spreads further: when CK Hutchison announced the sale of up to 43 ports to a BlackRock and Terminal Investment Limited-led consortium in March 2025, Hong Kong was never part of it. The announcement explicitly excludes any interest in HPH Trust, which covers Hong Kong, Shenzhen and South China, and that exclusion has held through the deal's subsequent restructuring, its expanded suitor list and even Panama's separate judicial seizure of its own port assets. This 2026 guide profiles seven providers with the strongest footprint in Hong Kong, listed in no particular order, drawn from Marine Department and Airport Authority data, HKEX filings and company reporting.
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 Hong Kong: 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 Hong Kong 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 7 companies at a glance
| Company | Type | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Hongkong International Terminals | Container terminal operator | Hong Kong's largest terminal operator, and explicitly outside CK Hutchison's global ports sale |
| Modern Terminals | Container terminal operator | Hong Kong's first purpose-built container terminal, with real Pearl River Delta reach |
| COSCO-HIT | Container terminal joint venture | The direct link between a global carrier's port arm and HPH's Hong Kong network |
| Cathay Cargo | Airline cargo division | Hong Kong's home-carrier cargo operation, combining freighters with the region's deepest belly-hold network |
| Kerry Logistics Network | Listed integrated logistics group | A Hong Kong-headquartered 3PL with deep mainland China integration through its controlling shareholder |
| DHL Hong Kong | Express integrator's regional hub | The Central Asia Hub, one of DHL's largest dedicated express air facilities |
| Airport Authority Hong Kong | Airport operator | Operating the airport that stayed the world's busiest cargo gateway through a container downturn |
Hongkong International Terminals
HIT has operated since 1969 and runs 12 berths across Terminals 4, 6, 7 and 9 North at Kwai Tsing. It sits inside HPH Trust, the world's first container port business trust, listed in Singapore, and connects into Hutchison Ports' wider global network.
It is worth stating plainly given how much coverage CK Hutchison's ports disposal received: the March 2025 announcement of a sale covering up to 43 ports to a consortium including BlackRock and Terminal Investment Limited explicitly excludes any interest in HPH Trust, which covers Hong Kong, Shenzhen and South China. That exclusion has held through the deal being restructured with China Merchants Group and COSCO Shipping Ports both joining talks, and through Panama separately seizing its own port assets by judicial order in early 2026. HIT is not for sale in that transaction.
Best for: the deepest Hong Kong terminal network with global Hutchison Ports connections.
Modern Terminals
Modern Terminals opened Hong Kong's first purpose-built container terminal in 1972 and now runs Terminals 1, 2, 5 and 9 South at Kwai Tsing, majority owns DaChan Bay Terminals in Shenzhen, and holds stakes in the Shekou and Chiwan terminals. It is owned by The Wharf Holdings at 68%, China Merchants Port Holdings at 27% and Jebsen Securities at 5%.
Its own leadership put the 2025 downturn plainly, saying the maritime and port industry had an extremely challenging year as Chinese exporters redirected shipments to ASEAN and Europe, with only mild growth expected for 2026. Modern Terminals also confirmed the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance, its joint operating agreement with three other Kwai Tsing operators since January 2019, is still active, completing a green methanol bunkering milestone in March 2026.
Best for: container handling with genuine integration into the Pearl River Delta, not just Hong Kong itself.
COSCO-HIT
COSCO-HIT operates Terminal 8 East, a joint venture between HPH Trust and COSCO Shipping Ports, with two container berths and four to five barge berths across 640 metres of quay, sitting contiguous with Asia Container Terminals for a combined 1,380 metres of berth.
It was a founding member of the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance when it formed in January 2019, and remains one of the four operators running the large majority of Kwai Tsing's berths under that shared arrangement.
Best for: shippers on COSCO or OOCL services wanting direct alignment with that carrier's own terminal operations.
Cathay Cargo
Cathay Pacific's cargo division reported revenue of 24,279 million Hong Kong dollars for 2025, up 1.2%, on 1.677 million tonnes carried, up 9.5%, though yield fell 4.6% to 2.69 dollars as load factor eased to 58.8%. Its own annual report notes that removing the de minimis exemption on shipments entering the United States cooled e-commerce airfreight demand during the year.
It also runs its own ground-handling arm, Cathay Cargo Terminal, a third cargo terminal at the airport alongside HACTL and Asia Airfreight Terminal, which handled 1.7 million tonnes in 2025, up 8%, for Cathay and ten other airlines. The Hong Kong to Zhuhai to Macao bridge's Air-Land Fresh Lane is a growth route it specifically calls out for perishables and pharma.
Best for: airfreight combining passenger-network belly space with dedicated freighters, particularly for perishables and pharma.
Kerry Logistics Network
Kerry Logistics remains listed on the Hong Kong exchange under stock code 636, and reported first-half 2025 revenue of 27,211 million Hong Kong dollars, up 7%, with core operating profit up 12% to 1,348 million.
Its controlling shareholder, confirmed in its own interim report, is Flourish Harmony Holdings, indirectly wholly owned by S.F. Holding, which holds 51.52% of Kerry Logistics' shares. Kerry Properties remains a substantial shareholder through the Kerry Group. That structure gives it a genuine bridge into S.F. Holding's mainland China express and e-commerce logistics network alongside its own international forwarding business.
Best for: integrated freight forwarding and e-commerce logistics with a direct line into mainland China's largest express operator.
DHL Hong Kong
DHL's Central Asia Hub at Hong Kong International Airport completed a major expansion in March 2023, adding 50% more warehouse space to reach 49,500 square metres, on a total investment of 562 million euros since 2004, and lifting annual handling capacity by 50% to 1.06 million tonnes at full throughput.
That capacity figure is independently corroborated rather than resting on DHL's own account alone, which is why it is included here with confidence despite dhl.com being unreachable during this research pass. It remains one of the largest dedicated express air investments in the territory.
Best for: international express shipments routed through one of DHL's largest dedicated air hubs.
Airport Authority Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport handled 5.07 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, up 2.7%, and was named the world's busiest cargo airport for the fifteenth time since 2010 on final full-year data from Airports Council International. All three runways began simultaneous commercial operation on 28 November 2024, after construction that started in 2016.
The long-term design target for the three-runway system is around 10 million tonnes of cargo a year within roughly a decade, meaning current volume sits at only about half of planned ultimate capacity. Whichever cargo terminal or airline handles your freight, this is the runway and slot capacity everything else depends on.
Best for: not a vendor choice, but the gateway whose runway capacity underpins every Hong Kong air cargo option.
How to choose between them
The right provider depends less on overall size than on fit with your freight and lane:
- Kwai Tsing containers: Hongkong International Terminals for the deepest Hutchison network, Modern Terminals for Pearl River Delta reach.
- Carrier-aligned terminals: COSCO-HIT for COSCO and OOCL services.
- Air cargo: Cathay Cargo for freighters plus belly space, DHL for dedicated express hub capacity.
- Integrated forwarding: Kerry Logistics Network, with S.F. Holding's mainland China network behind it.
- Gateway capacity: Airport Authority Hong Kong, still the world's busiest cargo airport with room to grow into.
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 Hong Kong logistics providers in one place
The seven 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 more than 300 logistics companies and freight forwarders based in Hong Kong, 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.
