Best Freight Forwarders Companies in Illinois, United States
The 130 best Freight Forwarders companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Roadrunner Freight.
Our analysis of 50 Freight Forwarders companies
$8.3b in tracked funding; 88% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2021.
Ranked: Best Freight Forwarders companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roadrunner Freight Provider of road based freight forwarding services 45Market top 27%Funding top 32%Product top 38%Tech top 44% All 10 signals ▾Markettop 27% Fundingtop 32% Producttop 38% Techtop 44% Fin. healthtop 45% Newstop 49% Globalbottom 37% Growthbottom 35% Innovationbottom 24% Customersbottom 9% Market: 3,600 employees (top 4% of Trucking) · Revenue ~$1.8B Funding: Raised $50.0M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 5 yrs (0.2/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 45/100 | $50M | 62 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1984 | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+31 | 3 job openings |
| 2 | AIT Worldwide Logistics Provider of shipping and supply chain management for industries including aerospace, automotive, consumer… 64Innovation top 20%Product top 40%Tech top 41%Market top 43% All 9 signals ▾Innovationtop 20% Producttop 40% Techtop 41% Markettop 43% Growthtop 46% Fundingtop 48% Talentbottom 49% Newsbottom 42% Globalbottom 41% Innovation: 12 product lines Product: 0 product launch events in 12 mo · 12 distinct product lines rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 64/100 | $7M | 103 mo ago | Acquired | Vaughn Moore CEO | 1979 | Apple iCloud MailFroala EditorBrightEdge+20 | 1 expansion |
| 3 | Walkboard Provider of truck transportation services 6Product bottom 48%Talent bottom 45%Funding bottom 39%Global bottom 29% All 6 signals ▾Productbottom 48% Talentbottom 45% Fundingbottom 39% Globalbottom 29% Techbottom 22% Marketbottom 14% Product: 1 published app (7.5k installs) · Company stage: Series A Talent: 1 named leader on record rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 6/100 | $3M | 76 mo ago | Series A | Greg Maczka CEO | 2015 | — | — |
| 4 | Tusk Logistics Provider of online listing platform, shipping, and logistic services 21Talent top 38%Growth top 45%Tech top 46%Funding bottom 40% All 9 signals ▾Talenttop 38% Growthtop 45% Techtop 46% Fundingbottom 40% Productbottom 39% Globalbottom 29% Innovationbottom 24% Marketbottom 19% Newsbottom 18% Talent: 2 named leaders on record · 2 C-suite/founder profiles curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 21/100 | $2M | 40 mo ago | Seed | Adam Hipp Co-Founder | 2021 | WebflowAmazon Web Servicescore-js+16 | 1 internship |
| 5 | OTR Transportation Provider of freight transportation services | — | 45 mo ago | Seed | Patrick Kenny Owner | 2015 | WordPressMySQLRedis+22 | 7 job openings |
| 6 | SEKO Logistics Provider of global freight forwarding and logistics solutions | — | 133 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1976 | UmbracoSentryGoogle Charts+30 | — |
| 7 | Vector Provider of road transportation services | — | 215 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1960 | WordPressMySQLPHP+16 | — |
| 8 | aerostar global logistics Aerostar Global Logistics a full-service logistics solutions provider specializing in industries with… | — | — | Acquired | — | 2002 | — | — |
Top 7 Freight Forwarders companies in Illinois
#1
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2021 · 7 employees$1.6Mraised▾
Provider of online listing platform, shipping, and logistic services
- Feb 2023Seed$1.6M
#2
Acquired · Downers Grove, Illinois · founded 1984 · 3600 employees$50Mraised▾
Provider of road based freight forwarding services
- Mar 2021Post IPO$50M
#3
Series A · Belleville, Illinois · founded 2015 · 8 employees$3Mraised▾
Provider of online truck transportation services intended to offer property moving facilities. The company connects agents, drivers, and qualified helpers with their potential clients to offer their range of services from drivers to labor to container shipping and full-scale services, enabling users to get instant quotes for the right moving services according to their needs.
- Feb 2020Series A$3M
#4
Acquired · Itasca, Illinois · founded 1979 · 774 employees$7.4Mraised▾
Provider of shipping and supply chain management for industries including aerospace, automotive, consumer retail, e-commerce, food, government, healthcare, high-tech, industrial and life sciences. It helps companies grow by expanding access to markets all over the world to sell or procure their raw materials, components and finished goods. It also offers a consultative approach to build a global network and trusted partnerships in nearly every industry, including aerospace, energy, high-tech, home delivery, life sciences, marine and more. The business model customizes end-to-end deliveries via sea, air, road and rail. Its service options also include customs clearance, warehouse management and white glove services.
- Oct 2017Series B—
- May 2012Series A$7.4M
#5
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 71 employees—raised▾
Provider of freight transportation services
- Aug 2022Seed—
#6
Acquired · Schaumburg, Illinois · founded 1976 · 419 employees—raised▾
Provider of global freight forwarding and logistics solutions. It offers a comprehensive suite of services encompassing air, ocean, and ground transportation, as well as specialized solutions for ecommerce, home delivery, and white-glove handling of high-value goods. The company facilitates customs clearance and warehousing, supporting various industries including healthcare, technology, and retail. Its services extend to order fulfillment, reverse logistics, and specialized handling for sensitive equipment. The company manages complex supply chains, providing end-to-end solutions from origin to final delivery.
#7
Acquired · Westville, Illinois · founded 1960 · 1893 employees—raised▾
Provider of road transportation services
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Freight Forwarders coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
What Illinois researches in logistics supply chain
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and peers predominantly research biofuel production and forest biomass utilization within logistics-supply-chain contexts, with an optimistic tone favoring advancement over concern.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign8
- Northern Illinois University2
- Illinois State University2
- University of Illinois Chicago2
- Western Illinois University1
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.