Top 10: World's largest logistics brands

10. CSX
CSX is a leading supplier of rail-based freight transportation based out of Jacksonville, Florida. As a railroad, the company operates around 21,000 route miles of track. The company was formed in 1981 by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System, Seaboard Coast Line Industries then the Seaboard System Railroad in 1986. The brand is currently valued at $4bn.

9. Deutsche Post

Deutsche Post is part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group and is Europe’s leading postal service provider. Deutsche Post delivers mail and parcels in Germany and across the world and provides dialogue marketing and press distribution services as well as corporate communications solutions. Deutsche Post DHL Group employs approximately 510,000 employees in over 220 countries and territories worldwide. The brand value, according to Brand Finance, is $4.2bn.

8. CN

With a brand value of $4.4bn, CN is a Canadian-based transportation company that offers integrated services covering rail, intermodal, trucking, freight forwarding, warehousing and distribution. CN has approximately 24,000 railroaders and transports more than $250bn worth of goods annually for an array of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.

7. Poste Italiane

Poste Italiane is an Italian postal service provider. Outside of its standard postal services it also offers various integrated products such as postal savings, communication, logistics and financial services throughout Italy. In 2011, the business acquired UniCredit MedioCredito Centrale for €136mn ($166mn) and in 2016 the Italian government approved the sale of stakes of up to 40% in the company. Its CEO and MD is Matteo Del Fante and its brand value stands at $4.8bn.

6. McLane Company

The McLane Company is of the largest supply chain service leaders providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, drug stores and more in the US. It has one of the largest private fleets in America and delivers around 50,000 products to 110,000 locations and employs around 20,000 employees. The President and CEO of McLane since 1995 is W. Grady Rosier and its brand value is currently $4.8bn.

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5. Union Pacific
Union Pacific is a freight hauling railroad that operates 8,500 locomotives consisting of 43 different models, operating over 32,100 route miles. Its system is the second biggest in the US. The company started in back in 1862 when it was called the Union Pacific Rail Road and its current CEO is Lance M. Fritz. The brand value of the company is thought to be $7.8bn.

4. DHL
DHL is one of the most recognisable logistics brands across the globe, specialising in international shipping, courier services, road and rail transportation, air and ocean freight, international parcel and express mail services and contract logistics. Founded in the US in 1969, the company had gone global by the late 70s and its current value is thought to be in the region of $10.7bn.

3. Japan Railways Group
The Japan Railways Group is more commonly known as the JR Group and consists of seven for-profit companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways in 1987. The JR Group has a total route length of about 12,500 miles, of which about half is electrified. Current brand value is thought to be $11.1bn.

2. FedEx
FedEx Corporation is a US multinational courier delivery services company with its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. FedEx offers a complete suite of online services for shipment preparation, package tracking, shipment rates and tools for international shippers and small businesses. The name FedEx is actually an abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express. Brand value, according to Brand Finance, is $18.1bn. The CEO is Frederick W. Smith.

1. UPS

United Parcel Service is an American multinational package delivery company and a provider of supply chain management solutions. Services also include a cargo airline, a freight-based trucking operation and retail-based packing and shipping centres. UPS employs approximately 444,000 staff with approximately 240,000 drivers with international package operations delivering to more than 220 countries. Its CEO is David P. Abney and the brand value of the company is $22bn.