Sonora
Sonora is a Riga-based, privately held freight forwarder offering multimodal road, sea, rail, and air transportation, customs brokerage, warehousing, and project cargo services to enterprise clients across Europe, the CIS, and Central Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersRiga, Latvia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Sonora firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sonora
- Legal name
- SIA Sonora
- Website
- https://sonora.lv
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Sonora is a Riga-based, privately held freight forwarder offering multimodal road, sea, rail, and air transportation, customs brokerage, warehousing, and project cargo services to enterprise clients across Europe, the CIS, and Central Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sonora industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Freight Forwarding & Logistics
- NAICS
- Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (48423), General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance (48412), General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload (484121), Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Rail Transportation (4821)
- SIC
- Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Transportation Services (4700), Trucking (No Local) (4213), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Air Courier Services (4513)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cross-Border Intermodal (Customs-in-Transit/Transit Regimes) Forwarding (TLACAEAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Cargo Air Freight Forwarding (Airport-to-Airport / Door-to-Door) (TLACAAAA), Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG), Rail Customs Brokerage & Border Clearance (TLACADAE), Cross-Border Trucking & Border Transfer (Linehaul, Transloading) (TLACACAC), In-Transit & Special Regimes Processing (Transit, TIR/ATA Carnet, Temporary Import/Export) (TLACAFAJ)
Keywords
Where Sonora is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Riga
- HQ country
- Latvia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sonora business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Freight Forwarding Services: Multimodal freight forwarding including air, sea, railway, and road transportation services for cargo worldwide. Core revenue stream from organizing and managing cargo shipments.
- Customs Services: Customs declaration services including export, import and transit declarations, TIR carnets, CMR documents, EORI registration, combined nomenclature determination, certificates of origin, and food/veterinary border control documents.
- Warehouse Services: Storage and handling services including general cargo, excise goods, customs warehouse, and temperature-controlled storage. Includes loading, unloading, packaging, lashing, weighing services.
- Project Cargo / Non-standard Cargo: Specialized transportation of oversize, heavy weight, and abnormal cargo requiring engineering technical services, road surveys, and individual approach for each project.
- Cargo Insurance Services: Cooperation with leading insurance companies offering optimal insurance types according to cargo specifics and potential risks including fire, explosion, vehicle accidents, theft, natural disasters, and general average.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom quotation for all services based on specific requirements |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Sonora product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sonora is a Latvian-headquartered freight forwarding and logistics company offering multimodal transport (road, rail, sea, air), customs brokerage, customs and excise warehousing totaling over 10,900 m2 in Riga, and specialized project cargo handling for oversized and out-of-gauge loads. The company provides door-to-door international delivery and integrates customs documentation with transport execution for cross-border shippers.
Product overview
Sonora operates as a full-service freight forwarding and logistics company offering a coordinated portfolio of seven interconnected service lines covering all transport modes: road freight, railway freight, sea freight, air freight, customs brokerage, multi-type warehousing, and project cargo (out-of-gauge/oversized freight). The core transport services are complemented by customs clearance, warehouse facilities (excise, customs-bonded, and heated), cargo insurance, and cargo consolidation. The company manages two warehouses in Riga including a 10,900 m2 customs warehouse and a 4,200 m2 heated warehouse, serving as a hub for multimodal transshipments across Europe, the CIS, Central Asia, and China.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Road Freight Services Road-based freight transport service for cross-border and domestic shipments, offered as part of the company's multimodal logistics portfolio.
- Railway Freight Services Rail freight forwarding service for containerized and bulk cargo shipments, particularly suited to Eurasian corridor movements.
- Sea Freight Services Sea/ocean freight forwarding services for full container load (FCL), less-than-container load (LCL), and conventional ocean cargo via partner shipping lines.
- Air Freight Services IATA-certified air freight forwarding service for time-sensitive cargo, delivered in partnership with airlines.
- Customs Services Customs brokerage and clearance service, including documentation preparation and excise handling for cross-border shipments integrated with the company's transport offerings.
- Warehouse Services Customs and excise-bonded warehousing service operating from Riga facilities totaling over 10,900 m2, supporting storage under customs supervision and excise regimes.
- Project Cargo / Out-of-Gauge Freight Specialized project cargo forwarding service for oversized, heavy-lift, and out-of-gauge shipments, delivered through membership in the Project Cargo Network.
- Door-to-Door Delivery Integrated door-to-door delivery service combining pickup, line-haul transport, customs clearance, and final-mile delivery for international shipments.
Quantifiable outcome
- 26 years of experience in cargo transportation industry
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sonora
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sonora technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Sonora partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Professional Forwarders International (PFI)corePFI Worldwide Network brings together the best logistics professionals from around the world. Sonora is the only company from the Baltic states in this organization, representing Latvia in the network of 615 member companies from 188 countries. Sonora successfully hosted the 7th PFI conference in Riga in 2019, the first time the event was held in Northern Europe.
- Worldwide Partners Alliance (WPA)coreInternational logistics network where only one company per country can be admitted. Sonora represents Latvia as the sole member, demonstrating its position as a leading logistics company. Received Best Communication award at the 5th annual WPA conference in Bangkok.
- Project Cargo NetworkcoreInternational organization for project cargo specialists. Membership confirms Sonora is among the world's best non-standard cargo transportation specialists.
- AirBalticmajorAirline partner for air cargo transportation services
- Turkish AirlinesmajorAirline partner for air cargo transportation services
- FinnairmajorAirline partner for air cargo transportation services
- LufthansamajorAirline partner for air cargo transportation services
- Swiss International Air LinesmajorAirline partner for air cargo transportation services
- Uzbekistan AirwaysmajorOfficial cargo transportation agents for Uzbekistan Airways. Supported Sonora's participation at TransLogistica 2024 exhibition in Tashkent.
- MaerskmajorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company)majorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- CMA CGMmajorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- EvergreenmajorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- YML (Yang Ming)majorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- OOCLmajorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- COSCO ShippingmajorGlobal container shipping company partner for sea freight services
- IATAcoreInternational Air Transport Association membership providing industry certification and standards compliance for air cargo operations
- Latvian Employers' Confederation (LDDK)coreLargest employers' representative organization in Latvia. Sonora joined in August 2015. Sonora's CEO Jānis Mozga serves as Chairman of Latvian-Uzbekistan and Latvian-Turkmenistan Business Cooperation Councils under LDDK.
- Kyrgyz Republic Chamber of Commerce and IndustrymajorMembership provides access to business development opportunities in Kyrgyzstan and assurance of high-quality cargo transportation services meeting stringent quality requirements.
- European Digital Innovation Centre (EDIC)corePartnership under 'EDIC: Support for digitalization and artificial intelligence development in Latvia' program. Sonora's subsidiary SIA Sonora Cargo Park implemented digitalization project within EDIC's Test Before Invest framework.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sonora competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GAC Group: Global logistics provider headquartered in Dubai/Jeddah with strong presence in project cargo, oil & gas, and multimodal forwarding. Highly comparable to Sonora in service mix and project cargo emphasis, with greater Middle East coverage.
- Scan Global Logistics: Denmark-based mid-market global forwarder offering air, sea, road, and customs services with strong cross-border and project cargo capabilities. Highly comparable in size and full-service model.
- Hellmann Worldwide Logistics: Family-owned German mid-sized forwarder offering multimodal air, sea, road, and contract logistics globally. Closest structural analog to Sonora — same ownership profile, similar size tier, full-service multimodal offering.
- Röhlig Logistics: German family-owned mid-sized global forwarder with air, sea, and road services plus strong project cargo capability. Closest mid-market European peer to Sonora in ownership profile and service breadth.
Broad incumbents
- CEVA Logistics: French-headquartered global logistics provider (CMA CGM group) offering multimodal freight, contract logistics, and customs services. Competes in the same end-markets, though with larger contract logistics focus.
- Expeditors International: US-listed global forwarder specializing in air and ocean freight with strong European presence. Competes for enterprise multimodal accounts though does not offer the same warehousing depth as Sonora.
- DHL Global Forwarding: Division of Deutsche Post DHL offering air, ocean, road freight and customs services globally. Sets the standard for enterprise forwarding SLAs and competes with Sonora for large multinational accounts.
- DSV A/S: Global Danish freight forwarder offering road, air, sea, and project cargo across 80+ countries. Closest publicly listed forwarder benchmark — same multimodal model, but at vastly greater scale following the DB Schenker acquisition.
- Kuehne+Nagel International AG: Swiss-headquartered global logistics leader across sea, air, road, and contract logistics with a particularly strong European forwarding presence. Competes for the same enterprise multimodal RFPs but operates at far larger scale.
Regional players
- Noerpel Group: Family-owned German mid-sized forwarder focused on European road, sea, and air freight with warehousing. Comparable in ownership and size profile to Sonora, but primarily Western/Central European in focus rather than Baltic/CIS.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sonora social profiles
Digital presenceSonora financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sonora leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Sonora subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Sonora funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sonora 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 Sonora
What does Sonora do?
Sonora is a Latvian-headquartered freight forwarding and logistics company offering multimodal transport (road, rail, sea, air), customs brokerage, customs and excise warehousing totaling over 10,900 m2 in Riga, and specialized project cargo handling for oversized and out-of-gauge loads. The company provides door-to-door international delivery and integrates customs documentation with transport execution for cross-border shippers.
Is Sonora a public or private company?
Sonora is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sonora founded?
Sonora was founded in 2000. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Sonora based?
Sonora is headquartered in Riga, Latvia, in the Europe region.
How does Sonora make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Freight Forwarding Services are the primary driver. The others are customs Services, warehouse Services, project Cargo / Non-standard Cargo and cargo Insurance Services.
Who are Sonora's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GAC Group, Scan Global Logistics, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and Röhlig Logistics. Broad incumbents are CEVA Logistics, Expeditors International, DHL Global Forwarding, DSV A/S and Kuehne+Nagel International AG. Noerpel Group is listed as a regional player.
Does Sonora have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sonora.
What industry is Sonora in?
Sonora's product category is Freight Forwarding & Logistics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLACAEAJ, Cross-Border Intermodal (Customs-in-Transit/Transit Regimes) Forwarding, with a secondary code of TLACAAAA, General Cargo Air Freight Forwarding (Airport-to-Airport / Door-to-Door). Its NAICS code is 48851 and its SIC code is 4731.