Livingston International

What Livingston International does

Livingston International is a Toronto-based trade services firm operating as the largest customs brokerage and compliance company in North America. The company provides customs clearance, global trade management, freight forwarding, and vehicle transportation services to more than 30,000 businesses across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Its service portfolio is organized around four primary offerings (Customs Solutions, Global Trade Management, Global Forwarding, and Vehicle Transportation) supported by the proprietary Livingston Portal, which provides real-time shipment tracking, secure file management, trend analysis, and scenario planning capabilities.

The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with a self-service online portal and quote-based transactional pricing. Customers are segmented horizontally into one-time shippers, frequent shippers, enterprise shippers, and carriers, with revenue generated primarily through transaction fees for customs brokerage and freight forwarding, supplemented by professional services for trade consulting. Livingston has pursued technology partnerships to enhance its capabilities, notably an October 2025 collaboration with Avathon and Google Cloud to deploy AI-powered customs classification on the Autonomy Platform.

In February 2025, Livingston was acquired by Purolator Inc. from Platinum Equity, ending over three decades of partnership history and positioning the combined entity as a cross-border transportation and trade powerhouse. Under Purolator ownership, Livingston has accelerated geographic expansion into the United Kingdom, including a new London office near Victoria Station in December 2025, while maintaining its licensed customs broker operations across multiple jurisdictions. Note: the input data contains a conflict between the firmographics founding year (1945) and the company history timeline (1980).

Name

Livingston International

Legal name

Livingston International

Website

https://livingstonintl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customs Brokerage Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage & Trade Compliance Management (TLAIANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Trade & Customs / Trade Compliance (BPAHAHAG), In-Transit & Special Regimes Processing (Transit, TIR/ATA Carnet, Temporary Import/Export) (TLACAFAJ)

Keywords

• Customs brokerage
• Trade compliance
• Freight forwarding
• Global trade management
• Import export services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Customs Brokerage Services: Customs clearance services including border management, compliance, and duty optimization. Revenue generated through transaction fees for customs brokerage services.
2. Global Freight Forwarding: Freight forwarding solutions connecting businesses to markets worldwide. Revenue generated through shipping and logistics service fees.
3. Trade Consulting and Global Trade Management: Enterprise-level optimization of global compliance, supply chain, and cost control. Professional consulting services for trade regulatory compliance.
4. Vehicle Transportation: Secure, insured, door-to-door vehicle shipping across Canada or cross-border.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Livingston International provides customs brokerage, trade compliance, and freight forwarding services for businesses engaged in cross-border trade. Its core offering spans border management, duty and tax optimization, global trade management consulting, and global freight forwarding, supported by a technology platform that delivers real-time shipment tracking, file management, and AI-powered customs classification.

Product overview

Livingston International operates as a trade services firm offering a unified platform of customs brokerage and freight forwarding services. The core portfolio consists of four main service lines: Customs Solutions (border management and duty optimization), Global Trade Management (enterprise compliance and supply chain optimization), Global Forwarding (worldwide freight services), and Vehicle Transportation (secure vehicle shipping). These services are supported by the Livingston Portal technology for real-time tracking and reporting. The company also offers segmented service tiers for different customer segments including One-time Shippers, Frequent Shippers, Enterprise Shippers, and Carriers, providing tailored support based on shipping volume and complexity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Customs Solutions Tech-driven customs brokerage service providing flexible border management, compliance monitoring, and duty optimization for importers and exporters. Designed for businesses of all sizes that need customs clearance support.
• Global Trade Management Enterprise-level platform for optimizing global compliance, supply chain visibility, and cost control across international trade operations. Targeted at organizations with complex global trading activities.
• Global Forwarding Freight forwarding services connecting businesses to global markets with flexible, reliable shipping solutions across multiple transport modes. Targeted at businesses with cross-border shipping needs.
• Vehicle Transportation Secure, insured door-to-door vehicle shipping services for domestic Canada shipments and cross-border transport between Canada and the US. Targeted at individuals and businesses needing vehicle transport.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI-powered customs classification reduces costs and enhances decision accuracy

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core, supporting and flagship.

• Livingston WFCminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 December 2025New sponsorship deal with Livingston WFC as part of the company's UK growth strategy and brand awareness initiatives.
• AvathoncoreTechnology or Integration · 9 October 2025Livingston partnered with Avathon to modernize customs clearance operations, leveraging AI-powered global trade management built on the Autonomy Platform. The collaboration aims to reduce costs and enhance decision accuracy in customs classification and compliance. Includes integration with Google Cloud for improved data analysis and scalability.
• Google CloudsupportingTechnology or Integration · 9 October 2025Integration partner within the Avathon collaboration for improved data analysis and scalability of AI-powered customs classification solutions.
• PurolatorflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2025Purolator acquired Livingston International from Platinum Equity, combining 30+ year partnership history. The acquisition expands Purolator's international capabilities with full-service customs brokerage across Canada, US, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. The combined entity is positioned as a 'powerhouse' in transportation and trade.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DB Schenker: German-headquartered global logistics provider with integrated land, air, ocean freight and customs brokerage operations. Directly comparable for trade compliance and forwarding services targeting European and North American shippers.
• C.H. Robinson: North American freight broker and global forwarder with significant customs brokerage operations, particularly at the US-Canada border. Closest direct competitor for Livingston's cross-border NA customs and freight forwarding business.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Operates one of the largest global customs brokerage networks alongside air, ocean, and road freight forwarding. Directly competes for enterprise cross-border trade management business with similar service bundling and geographic coverage.
• Flexport: Digital-first global freight forwarder offering customs clearance as part of its technology-led platform. Competes on user experience and real-time visibility, mirroring Livingston Portal's positioning and target enterprise/SMB cross-border shippers.
• Expeditors International: US-headquartered global logistics provider offering customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and trade compliance services to enterprise importers and exporters. Comparable in service mix and consultative enterprise sales motion.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders with integrated customs brokerage and trade compliance services across North America, Europe, and Asia. Directly comparable in product breadth and target customer base (enterprise shippers with complex cross-border needs).

Broad incumbents

• Purolator Inc. Now Livingston's parent company post-February 2025 acquisition, Purolator is a major Canadian parcel and logistics provider. Comparable as a broad incumbent in NA transportation and trade, and directly relevant given its ownership of Livingston.
• UPS Supply Chain Solutions: Includes UPS Customs Brokerage and UPS Forwarding as part of UPS SCS. Competes for enterprise customs brokerage and trade management engagements with the scale advantages of a global integrator.
• FedEx Trade Networks (FedEx Logistics): Global logistics arm of FedEx offering customs brokerage, international trade advisory, and freight forwarding. Operates as part of a broader portfolio and overlaps directly with Livingston's customs solutions and forwarding services.

Regional players

• Nippon Express: Japan-based global logistics company with customs brokerage and freight forwarding across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Comparable product offering but primarily Asia-centric; relevant as a competitor for Livingston's Asia corridor trade.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/26059
• Instagraminstagram.com/livingstonintl
• Xx.com/livingston_intl
• Facebookfacebook.com/livingstoninternational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Livingston International