What Cardinal Maritime does

Cardinal Maritime is a UK-headquartered, private international freight forwarder founded in 1997 and based in Manchester. According to its firmographic description, the company provides import and export services for both less-than-container-load (LCL) and full-container-load (FCL) shipments, with a service footprint covering the Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa and the Americas. The firm operates with 101-250 employees.

The company's disclosed product portfolio is narrow: a single web-based Freight Calculator hosted at calc.cardinalgl.com, which allows users to self-estimate shipping costs and logistics expenses. No APIs, SDKs, or additional digital products are surfaced (api_exists: false). There is no evidence of proprietary technology, patents, certifications, or technology partnerships. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Cardinal Maritime's business model is consistent with a traditional asset-light freight forwarder: revenue is generated by intermediating ocean freight bookings (LCL consolidation and FCL movement) for shippers across its multi-corridor network, with margin earned on the spread between contracted carrier rates and quoted customer pricing. No pricing tiers, customer logos, revenue figures, ownership details, or funding events are disclosed in the input data. The leadership team consists of a CEO (Brian Hay), Managing Director (Rob Cross), Operations Director (Charlie McGonagle), and Sales & Marketing Directors (Julie McAlinden and Pieter Fourie) — a structure typical of a mid-sized, family- or founder-influenced UK freight SME.

Name

Cardinal Maritime

Website

https://cardinalmaritime.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cardinal Maritime is a UK-based freight forwarder offering LCL and FCL import/export services across the Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa and the Americas to shippers seeking multi-corridor ocean freight solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding / Logistics Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation (48311), Marine Cargo Handling (488320)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

FCL (Full Container Load) Ocean Forwarding (TLACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF), Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG)

Keywords

• Ocean freight forwarding
• LCL consolidation services
• FCL shipping services
• Import export logistics
• International freight forwarding

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Core offering

Cardinal Maritime is an international freight forwarder providing import and export ocean freight services in both LCL (Less than Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) modes to and from the Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa, and the Americas. The company supplements its forwarding services with an online freight calculator tool that lets customers estimate shipping costs and logistics expenses.

Product overview

Cardinal Maritime offers a freight calculation tool accessible via calc.cardinalgl.com, enabling users to estimate shipping costs. The product portfolio consists of this single core offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freight Calculator A web-based freight calculator tool accessible at calc.cardinalgl.com that allows users to estimate shipping costs and logistics expenses for the company's LCL and FCL import/export services. It is positioned as a core digital offering of Cardinal Maritime.
• LCL (Less than Container Load) Import and Export Services Less-than-Container-Load consolidation and forwarding services for businesses that ship cargo volumes smaller than a full container. Covers import and export lanes to the Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa, and the Americas.
• FCL (Full Container Load) Import and Export Services Full-Container-Load ocean freight forwarding services for businesses moving complete containers. Covers import and export lanes to the Far East, Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa, and the Americas.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Agility Logistics: Middle East-headquartered global freight forwarder with significant ocean FCL/LCL, customs and trade compliance offerings spanning the Far East, Middle East, Africa and the Americas, mirroring Cardinal's lane mix.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Operates a global ocean and air freight forwarding network including LCL/FCL consolidation, customs and supply chain services, directly overlapping Cardinal's import/export offering to the Far East, Middle East and Americas.
• DB Schenker: Major European-headquartered logistics provider offering ocean and air freight forwarding, customs brokerage and end-to-end supply chain solutions, overlapping Cardinal's import/export forwarding services.
• Yusen Logistics: Global forwarding and contract logistics provider offering ocean FCL/LCL services with strong Asia-Europe and transpacific lane coverage, comparable to Cardinal's multi-region ocean forwarding model.
• Expeditors International: US-listed global freight forwarder with strong ocean FCL/LCL and trade compliance services across Europe, Asia and the Americas; comparable to Cardinal in asset-light forwarding model and lane breadth.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders with extensive ocean FCL/LCL and customs brokerage services across all of Cardinal's trade lanes; comparable as a multi-lane ocean forwarder serving global shippers.
• GAC (Gulf Agency Company): Global logistics provider offering ocean freight forwarding, LCL consolidation and ship agency services with strong Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean coverage — directly comparable to Cardinal's regional lane focus.
• Kerry Logistics Network: Asia-headquartered logistics group with ocean freight forwarding, LCL consolidation and customs services covering the Far East and Middle East — directly overlapping Cardinal's strongest lanes.
• CEVA Logistics: Global freight forwarder and contract logistics provider offering ocean FCL/LCL forwarding, customs and supply chain services across the same international trade lanes as Cardinal.
• Panalpina / DSV Air & Sea: Following DSV's acquisition of Panalpina, the combined entity offers one of the largest ocean and air forwarding networks globally, including FCL/LCL and customs brokerage across all of Cardinal's trade regions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cardinalcaptain

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 Cardinal Maritime