What Global Transportation Services does

Global Transportation Services is an international air and ocean freight forwarder and licensed customs house broker headquartered in Seattle, founded in 1985 and operating with 51–100 employees. The company operates within a broader multimodal logistics platform (branded as Odyssey Logistics and Odyssey International Services, Inc.) that delivers intermodal rail, trucking brokerage, warehousing (including temperature-controlled and transload), 3PL and 4PL managed transportation, supply chain consulting, and global sample fulfillment, alongside customs brokerage and NVOCC capabilities. Operating geographies span North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific with dedicated regional service lines for Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Europe, and APAC.

The technology layer rests on a visibility stack including TracNet (multimodal shipment tracking) and OIS Tracking (customs and international shipment visibility), plus an AI-driven freight pricing capability marketed as a competitive differentiator. The asset-light business model monetizes through quote-based freight forwarding and managed transportation fees, with revenue streams spanning transactional freight services and managed services for enterprise customers. Customer segmentation is vertical-led, with chemicals as the primary industry (including hazardous-materials handling and chemical sample fulfillment), and metals, food and beverage, and packaged freight as secondary verticals.

Pricing is quote-based and customized per customer with no publicly disclosed rate cards, and the go-to-market is sales-led through direct enterprise engagement supported by content marketing (company blog, case studies) and digital self-service channels (online quote requests, visibility portals). The cited $3B figure describes the scale of the underlying logistics network rather than revenue, and the company competes on integrated multimodal coverage rather than asset ownership.

Name

Global Transportation Services

Legal name

Odyssey International Services, Inc.

Website

https://shipglobal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Global Transportation Services is a Seattle-based international air and ocean freight forwarder and licensed customs house broker, founded in 1985, providing customs brokerage, NVOCC, and managed transportation services across multimodal lanes in North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific for chemicals, metals, food and beverage, and packaged freight customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Freight Forwarding and Customs Brokerage

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL), Ocean Freight Brokerage (FCL/LCL) (TLADAMAF)

Keywords

• International freight forwarding
• Customs brokerage
• Ocean freight forwarding
• Air freight forwarding
• Logistics services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

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. Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Services: Outsourced global logistics and warehousing services, providing comprehensive supply chain management for enterprise customers
2. Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL) Services: Lead logistics provider services for global end-to-end supply chain orchestration
3. Intermodal Transportation: Multimodal transport solutions including containerized cargo, metals, and ISO tanks via rail transport
4. Trucking Services: Non-asset based trucking brokerage, flatbed, full truckload, LTL, and drayage services
5. Warehousing Services: Strategic warehousing including temperature-controlled facilities and transload services
6. Customs Brokerage and Freight Forwarding: International services including customs brokerage, IAC, and NVOCC services

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Global Transportation Services is an international air and ocean freight forwarder and licensed customs house broker. Operating through the Odyssey International Services (OIS) platform at shipglobal.com, it provides fully integrated asset-light international services including customs brokerage, freight forwarding, IAC (Indirect Air Carrier) and NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) services for shippers moving cargo across borders.

Product overview

Odyssey Logistics operates as an asset-light, fully integrated logistics provider offering a comprehensive multimodal transportation platform. The core offering spans intermodal services (containerized cargo, metals, ISO tanks), trucking (brokerage, flatbed, full truckload/LTL, drayage), and warehousing (strategic, temperature-controlled, transload). These services are augmented by managed transportation solutions including 3PL Logistics, 4PL Logistics, Supply Chain Consulting, and Global Sample Fulfillment. The company provides regional expertise across Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, supported by international services including customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and NVOCC capabilities. The portfolio serves key industries including chemicals, metals, food & beverage, and packaged freight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Air Freight Forwarding

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Expeditors International: Publicly traded Seattle-headquartered asset-light international freight forwarder and customs broker with air/ocean forwarding as its core service. Closest direct comparable in business model, geographic footprint, and licensing profile to Global Transportation Services.
• C.H. Robinson: Large non-asset-based freight forwarder and 3PL with NA surface, intermodal, and global forwarding capabilities. Comparable asset-light brokerage model and multimodal service mix, including NVOCC operations relevant to Global Transportation Services.
• Landstar System: Non-asset-based freight transportation services company using BCO (business capacity owner) agents and truckload carriers. Highly comparable asset-light brokerage model and multimodal focus, though more weighted to trucking than ocean forwarding.
• Echo Global Logistics: Technology-enabled non-asset-based freight broker offering truckload, LTL, intermodal, and managed transportation. Comparable asset-light brokerage model with emphasis on technology platforms for pricing and visibility.
• Hub Group: Asset-light intermodal, truck brokerage, and logistics services provider. Comparable multimodal, asset-light model with strength in intermodal containerized cargo and NVOCC operations directly relevant to Global Transportation Services' intermodal and international services.
• Worldwide Express: Non-asset-based 3PL offering LTL, truckload, and international freight forwarding services through a partner agent model. Comparable asset-light, sales-led model focused on small and mid-market shippers with air/ocean and customs capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders offering integrated air, ocean, road, and customs brokerage globally. Overlaps with Global Transportation Services across ocean freight forwarding and customs brokerage but operates at vastly larger scale with owned capacity.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Global freight forwarding and customs brokerage arm of Deutsche Post DHL, offering air, ocean, road, and customs services worldwide. Directly comparable service portfolio but with global network scale and enterprise relationships far beyond the subject company.

Emerging players

• Flexport: Digital-first global freight forwarder focused on ocean and air forwarding with proprietary software for shipper visibility and customs filings. Comparable core forwarding function but competing via technology-driven disintermediation of traditional customs brokers.
• Transplace / Uber Freight: Managed transportation and digital freight platform offering brokerage and 4PL services with strong technology orientation. Overlaps with Global Transportation Services' managed transportation and AI-pricing capabilities but operates at materially larger digital scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shipglobalusa
• Facebookfacebook.com/shipglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-transportation-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Global Transportation Services