Mainfreight USA
Mainfreight USA is the Americas arm of New Zealand-listed Mainfreight Limited, providing integrated air and ocean freight forwarding, domestic and cross-border transport, and managed warehousing to enterprise and mid-market shippers across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, supported by the Mainchain portal and proprietary API suite.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersCarson, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Mainfreight USA does
Mainfreight USA is the Americas operating arm of Mainfreight Limited (NZX: MFT), a New Zealand-headquartered, publicly listed international supply chain provider founded in 1978. The Americas operation is led from Carson, California and delivers integrated freight forwarding, transport, and managed warehousing services to businesses with cross-border and domestic logistics needs across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Service lines comprise Air and Ocean freight forwarding (with customs clearance and documentation), Domestic and Cross-Border Transport (including international groupage and full truck load), and Managed Warehousing (storage, cross-docking, and value-added services such as labeling, co-packing, and chemical warehousing).
The technology stack centers on the proprietary Mainchain customer portal for freight management and shipment tracking, a free mobile application for on-the-go visibility, and a published developer API suite (Tracking API, Transport Rate API, Transport Shipment API, Warehousing Order/Inward/Stock-on-Hand APIs, and Subscription/Webhooks) built on REST endpoints returning JSON or XML over TLS 1.2. Underlying infrastructure runs on Microsoft Azure with Cloudflare in front, and the platform is rolled out across Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand regions. The customer base is horizontal, targeting enterprises and mid-market shippers across multiple verticals; channel strategy relies on direct branch-based sales across 331 global branches, the Mainchain self-service portal, mobile self-service, online quote requests, and localized regional websites.
Mainfreight Limited generates revenue through transaction fees on freight movements (Air, Ocean, domestic transport) and managed-services contracts for warehousing. Pricing is quote-based rather than published, with no disclosed rate cards or tiers. The business has expanded through a series of platform acquisitions (Target Logistics Services in 2007 for the Americas, Wim Bosman Group in 2011 for Europe) and organic branch proliferation, and is governed by a distinctive 100-year vision culture with promotion-from-within leadership development.
Mainfreight USA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mainfreight USA
- Legal name
- Mainfreight Limited (NZ)
- Website
- https://mainfreight.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Mainfreight USA is the Americas arm of New Zealand-listed Mainfreight Limited, providing integrated air and ocean freight forwarding, domestic and cross-border transport, and managed warehousing to enterprise and mid-market shippers across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, supported by the Mainchain portal and proprietary API suite.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mainfreight USA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Logistics Services
- NAICS
- Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), General Freight Trucking (4841), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)
- SIC
- Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Water Transportation (4400), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Cargo Air Freight Forwarding (Airport-to-Airport / Door-to-Door) (TLACAAAA)
- 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
Where Mainfreight USA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Carson
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Mainfreight USA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Air and Ocean Freight Forwarding: International freight forwarding services for air cargo and ocean shipping, including customs clearance, container management, and documentation.
- Domestic and Cross-Border Transport: Ground transportation services including domestic distribution, international groupage, full truck load, and specialized transport solutions.
- Managed Warehousing: Warehouse management, storage, cross-docking, value-added services (labeling, co-packing), and chemical warehousing capabilities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
Mainfreight USA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mainfreight USA provides end-to-end supply chain logistics services for businesses, including international air and ocean freight forwarding, domestic and cross-border ground transport, and managed warehousing with value-added services such as labeling and co-packing. The company operates through a proprietary technology ecosystem (Mainchain portal, mobile app, and developer APIs) that enables shipment tracking, documentation, and supply chain visibility for enterprise and mid-market customers.
Product overview
Mainfreight is an international supply chain provider offering managed warehousing, domestic and cross-border transport, and international freight forwarding services. The product portfolio centers on Mainchain, an online customer portal providing comprehensive freight management capabilities, supported by the Mainfreight Mobile App for on-the-go tracking. The company provides a suite of developer APIs including Tracking API, Transport Rate API, Transport Shipment API, Warehousing APIs (Stock on Hand, Inward, Order), and Subscription/Webhooks enabling programmatic access to supply chain data and automation. Services include Air and Ocean freight, Transport, and Warehousing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mainchain: Online customer portal for freight management with tools to manage supply chain anywhere, anytime
- Maintel
- Mainfreight Developer Portal
- Container Freight Services (CFS)
Products and services
- Air and Ocean Freight Forwarding International air cargo and ocean shipping services including customs clearance, container management, and documentation for businesses with cross-border shipping needs.
- Domestic and Cross-Border Transport Ground transportation services including domestic distribution, international groupage, full truck load, and specialized transport solutions for businesses requiring reliable freight movement.
- Managed Warehousing Warehouse management, storage, cross-docking, and value-added services including labeling, co-packing, and chemical warehousing for businesses requiring third-party logistics support.
- Mainchain Customer Portal Online customer portal for freight management, shipment tracking, document handling, and supply chain visibility across Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe regions.
- Mainfreight Mobile App Free mobile application enabling supply chain tracking, branch location finder with geo-location, and shipment management for business customers on-the-go.
- Tracking API REST API enabling retrieval of current status for Transport, Logistics, Air Freight and Sea Freight references in JSON or XML format, supporting References and References/Events methods for developer and ERP integration.
- Transport Shipment API API for creating and deleting shipments for transport movements in supported regions (Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe).
- Warehousing Order API API to CREATE, UPDATE or DELETE warehousing orders directly from external websites or applications, enabling automated order management.
Companies that use Mainfreight USA
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Mainfreight USA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Mainfreight USA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- John DeereminorMainfreight cooperates with John Deere for merchandise logistics. A specific Privacy Statement for John Deere Merchandise is maintained, indicating an ongoing operational partnership for merchandise handling and distribution.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mainfreight USA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DSV A/S: Global transport and logistics company offering air and sea freight, road and solutions. Direct competitor following DSV's acquisition of DB Schenker; very similar multimodal forwarding model.
- DHL Global Forwarding: Air and ocean freight forwarding arm of DHL Group. Operates the same core forwarding product set as Mainfreight and competes in virtually every lane Mainfreight serves.
- Hellmann Worldwide Logistics: German-headquartered global forwarder with air, ocean, road and contract logistics operations. Closely comparable mid-tier global forwarder with similar multimodal product mix.
- Expeditors International: U.S.-headquartered global logistics company focused on international air and ocean freight forwarding and customs brokerage. Closest U.S.-listed pure-play comparable to Mainfreight USA.
- C.H. Robinson Worldwide: Major North American freight broker and 3PL with sizable global forwarding arm (formerly C.H. Robinson Global Forwarding). Direct competitor for U.S. shipper accounts across truck, ocean and air.
- Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest global freight forwarders with air, ocean, road and contract logistics. Directly comparable to Mainfreight on international forwarding footprint and multimodal offering.
Broad incumbents
- Maersk Logistics & Services: Integrated container logistics arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk offering ocean, inland, customs and contract logistics. Increasingly competing with forwarders like Mainfreight as it expands beyond pure ocean shipping.
- XPO Logistics: U.S. less-than-truckload and logistics provider with freight forwarding and brokerage overlap. Comparable on U.S. trucking and brokerage services alongside Mainfreight USA's domestic and cross-border transport.
- DB Schenker: European-headquartered global logistics provider offering land, air, ocean and contract logistics. Comparable scope to Mainfreight; now part of DSV but historically a top-3 forwarder peer.
Regional players
- Kerry Logistics Network: Asia-based global logistics provider with strong intra-Asia and Asia-Europe/Americas forwarding. Compares with Mainfreight's Asia-Pacific franchise, though more regionally anchored.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Mainfreight USA social profiles
Digital presenceMainfreight USA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mainfreight USA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Mainfreight USA subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Mainfreight USA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mainfreight USA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mainfreight USA
What does Mainfreight USA do?
Mainfreight USA provides end-to-end supply chain logistics services for businesses, including international air and ocean freight forwarding, domestic and cross-border ground transport, and managed warehousing with value-added services such as labeling and co-packing. The company operates through a proprietary technology ecosystem (Mainchain portal, mobile app, and developer APIs) that enables shipment tracking, documentation, and supply chain visibility for enterprise and mid-market customers.
Is Mainfreight USA a public or private company?
Mainfreight USA is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Mainfreight USA founded?
Mainfreight USA was founded in 1978. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Mainfreight USA based?
Mainfreight USA is headquartered in Carson, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mainfreight USA make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Air and Ocean Freight Forwarding is the primary driver. The others are domestic and Cross-Border Transport and managed Warehousing.
Who are Mainfreight USA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DSV A/S, DHL Global Forwarding, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Expeditors International, C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Kuehne+Nagel. Broad incumbents are Maersk Logistics & Services, XPO Logistics and DB Schenker. Kerry Logistics Network is listed as a regional player.
Does Mainfreight USA have an API?
Yes. Mainfreight APIs enable developers to leverage critical freight information and automate functions directly from websites, ecommerce or ERP systems. The suite includes: Tracking API (retrieves current status and events for Transport, Logistics, Air Freight and Sea Freight in JSON or XML), Transport Rate API (RESTful service for retrieving costs of moving freight between locations, available for New Zealand), Transport Shipment API (create and delete shipments for Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Europe), Warehousing Stock on Hand API (find stock on hand by customer code, warehouse and product/SKU), Warehousing Inward API (CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE inward orders), Warehousing Order API (CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE orders), and Subscription API with Webhooks. Security is via TLS 1.2 cryptographic protocol only. Access requires registration and agreement to API terms and conditions. Developer documentation is at developer.mainfreight.com/global/en/global-home/getting-started.aspx.
What industry is Mainfreight USA in?
Mainfreight USA's product category is Logistics Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLACAAAA, General Cargo Air Freight Forwarding (Airport-to-Airport / Door-to-Door), with a secondary code of TLACABAF, Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL). Its NAICS code is 488510 and its SIC code is 4731.