Holship

What Holship does

Holship is a privately held, family-owned freight forwarding and logistics group headquartered in Køge, Denmark, founded in 1967 (originally as Holbæk Shipping & Spedition A/S) and rebranded under current ownership in 1985. It operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries across seven Nordic and Baltic countries — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia — with ten regional offices providing direct sales and account management. Services span six core lines: road transport, sea freight (LCL/FCL and break bulk), air freight, warehousing, stevedoring/port agency, and third-party logistics, supported by over 30,000 square meters of warehouse space including bonded facilities.

The company runs a freight forwarding and logistics management system comprising a computerized warehouse management system, the Hol-track Track & Trace platform supporting multiple shipment reference types, and a customer-facing online booking portal at booking.holship.com. Operational certifications include Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status in Sweden, IATA cargo agent accreditation across all four Scandinavian countries, NVOCC registration (OTI 024933), and ISO 9001/14001 in Norway. Revenue is generated transactionally on freight movements and via managed-services contracts for warehousing and 3PL engagements under a 'silent partner' positioning. The customer base is horizontal, spanning import/export businesses, manufacturing and industrial shippers, and project cargo clients, with quote-based pricing and no public rate card. Marketing is primarily digital (website, LinkedIn, Facebook, X) supplemented by downloadable industry reference tools such as Incoterms, NSAB 2000, and SCFI rates. Leadership passed to the second generation of the Ranners family in 2019, with Torben Ranners as CEO Group/Managing Director Denmark and Michael Ranners as Managing Director Norway.

Name

Holship

Legal name

HOLSHIP Danmark A/S

Website

https://holship.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Holship is a family-owned Nordic and Baltic freight forwarder and logistics provider offering road, sea, and air freight, warehousing, stevedoring, and 3PL services across 10 offices in 7 countries, serving import/export, manufacturing, and project cargo customers since 1967.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding & Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), General Warehousing and Storage (49311), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) / Groupage Forwarding (TLACACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAC), LCL (Less-than-Container Load) Consolidation/Deconsolidation (TLACABAB), Bulk Cargo Handling Services (Conveying, Grab/Loader Ops, Bagging) (TLAHALAI)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding services
• Warehousing logistics
• International shipping
• Supply chain management
• Customs clearance

Headquarters

HQ city

Køge

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Services: Core revenue stream from road transport, sea freight (LCL/FCL, break bulk), and air freight services to and from all global destinations. Services include door-to-door delivery in cooperation with worldwide agent network.
2. Warehousing & Logistics Services: Integrated warehousing with over 30,000 square meters of storage space including bonded warehouses, heated warehouses, and open yards. Revenue generated from storage fees and value-added services including pick and pack, labeling, and dispatching.
3. Third-Party Logistics (3PL): Customized logistics solutions scaled to customer needs, handling total logistics processes ('silent partner' strategy) including transportation, warehousing, and distribution.
4. Stevedoring Services: Port operations including ship loading/unloading, ships agency, chartering, and heavy lift services. Revenue from handling fees and agency commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Holship is a freight forwarding and logistics company providing road transport, sea freight (LCL/FCL/break bulk), air freight, integrated warehousing, stevedoring and port agency services, and third-party logistics solutions. The company operates across 7 Nordic and Baltic countries with 10 offices and 30,000+ square meters of warehouse space, offering door-to-door international delivery through its own network and a worldwide agent network.

Product overview

HOLSHIP is a freight forwarding and logistics company offering a unified service platform across six core service areas: Road Transport, Stevedoring, Sea Freight, Air Freight, Warehousing, and Third-Party Logistics. The company operates in 7 Nordic and Baltic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia) with 10 offices, providing global transport with local service. Supporting tools include Hol-track (Track & Trace), Container Capacity, NSAB 2000, Incoterms, DSHAB 2024, BL Conditions, and an Online Booking Portal. Established in 1967, the company handles break bulk cargo, LCL/FCL sea freight, air freight, warehousing with bonded facilities, and complete third-party logistics solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Road Transport Road freight services covering daily truck routes to and from Nordic and Baltic countries and European destinations with daily traffic, including full load, part load, and groupage options.
• Sea Freight LCL/FCL and break bulk ocean freight services to and from all worldwide destinations on a door-to-door basis, including containerized cargo, conventional cargo, groupage, consolidation, heavy lifts, and NVOCC services.
• Air Freight IATA cargo agent services for standard air freight to courier shipments, including project, chartering, and special shipments; offers airport-to-airport, direct flights, door-to-door, transit flights, consolidations, and charter services.
• Warehousing Integrated warehousing with over 30,000 square meters of open yards and general warehouses including bonded facilities; offers temperature-controlled storage, stock control, pick and pack, labeling, dispatching, and industrial packing services across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania.
• Stevedoring Ship loading and discharge services using heavy-duty forklifts, cranes, front loaders, bobcats, and conveyors; includes ships agency, chartering, heavy lift, bulk, and storage operations in the port of Køge.
• Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Integrated warehousing and transportation services scaled and customized to customer needs; follows a 'silent partner' strategy handling total logistics processes without customer involvement.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Worldwide Agent NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation with a worldwide network of agents enables Holship to offer door-to-door freight services to and from all global destinations. This network provides local expertise and relationships in international markets that complement Holship's Nordic and Baltic operations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kuehne+Nagel International AG: Global freight forwarding and contract logistics incumbent with significant Nordic/Baltic operations. Overlaps Holship across sea, air, and road forwarding plus contract logistics, but operates at much greater scale with a global network.
• DB Schenker: European-headquartered global freight forwarder with road, air, ocean, and contract logistics services and Nordic presence. Comparable multi-modal offering and customer segments, but with broader global footprint and enterprise-scale contracts.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Division of Deutsche Post DHL providing international air, ocean, road freight forwarding and customs services with established Nordic operations. Competes directly on multi-modal forwarding while also offering supply chain solutions at much larger scale.
• Maersk Logistics & Services: Integrated logistics arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk offering ocean, inland, and contract logistics across the Nordic/Baltic and globally. Highly comparable in Nordic origin/destination freight forwarding and warehousing, with substantial parent-company scale advantages.

Regional players

• PostNord AB: Swedish postal and logistics group providing freight forwarding, warehousing, and distribution across the Nordic region. Comparable Nordic geographic focus and B2B logistics services, though primarily serving the domestic Swedish and Nordic parcel/mail market.
• Bring (Posten Bring): Norwegian postal group's logistics division providing road, air, sea freight forwarding and contract logistics across Norway and the Nordics. Comparable Nordic/Baltic operating geography with multi-modal forwarding capability, though anchored in domestic Norwegian parcel logistics.
• Eimskipafelag Islands (Eimskip): Icelandic-headquartered shipping and logistics group with significant Baltic and North Atlantic liner services plus forwarding. Comparable in regional Nordic/Baltic focus and integrated sea/road forwarding model, though stronger on ocean liner services.

Direct peers

• NTG Nordic Transport Group: Danish-founded transport and logistics group with strong Nordic road freight and forwarding operations. Comparable as a mid-sized Nordic-headquartered freight forwarder pursuing consolidation, with similar service mix and regional customer base.
• DSV A/S: Danish-headquartered global freight forwarder and logistics group with deep Nordic and Baltic presence across road, sea, air, and contract logistics. Most direct competitor to Holship in the Scandinavian corridor, with a vastly larger network and comparable multi-modal offering.
• Wallenius Wilhelmsen ASA: Norwegian-headquartered global maritime logistics provider specializing in roll-on/roll-off shipping, vehicle processing, and inland distribution across the Nordic and Baltic regions. Comparable in Nordic/Baltic stevedoring and project cargo handling capabilities, with overlap in break bulk and heavy lift services.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/holshipgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/Holship
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holship-danmark-a-s

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Holship