What Rand McNally Publishing does

Rand McNally Publishing (legal entity Publishing Holdco, Inc.) is a U.S.-based cartographic and educational publishing company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, with a primary shipping warehouse in Richmond, Kentucky. It produces physical map and atlas products across consumer, commercial, and educational segments, including the flagship annual Road Atlas (the 2027 edition is the 103rd consecutive year of publication), companion Large Scale, Midsize Easy-to-Read, Motor Carriers' and Deluxe Motor Carriers' editions, and the 2027 Road Atlas & National Park Guide covering all 63 U.S. national parks. The portfolio also extends to folded road maps, wall maps, vintage-style decorative maps, desk and floor globes via the Replogle sub-brand, state topographic atlases under the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer series, U.S. regional wall maps under Thomas Brothers Maps, and a full K-12 classroom atlas line correlated to National Geography Standards.

The underlying technology is traditional print cartography augmented with QR-code deep links to external digital content (National Park Service pages, Route 66 Centennial event directories). The company distributes through its own e-commerce storefront at randpublishing.com, major national retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Walmart, Staples), travel-corridor retailers (Buc-ee's, Love's Travel Stops, TravelCenters of America), and a dedicated education sales channel supporting purchase orders from schools and libraries. Revenue is generated through one-time unit sales across price tiers ranging from $6.99 folded maps to $495 floor globes, with free shipping thresholds and education-specific bulk pricing. Operating geography is the United States and Canada, with product-level shipping restrictions on Hawaii, Alaska, PO boxes, and select international destinations.

The customer base is horizontally segmented into individual travelers and road-trippers, commercial drivers and fleet operators, K-12 educational institutions, and home/office decorators. The 2026 product slate includes The Official Map of the Route 66 Centennial, designated as the official map of the Route 66 Centennial celebration in partnership with the Route 66 Centennial Commission and the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, with a portion of proceeds funding preservation grants. The business is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, no app or API, and no public revenue disclosure.

Name

Rand McNally Publishing

Legal name

Publishing Holdco, Inc.

Website

https://randpublishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Rand McNally Publishing produces printed road atlases, folded and wall maps, globes, and K-12 educational atlases for U.S. and Canadian consumers, commercial drivers, schools, and decorators, distributing through its own e-commerce site, major national retailers, and travel-corridor stores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cartographic Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Children’s Reference & Encyclopedias (Dictionaries, Atlases) (EDAGAIAD)

Keywords

• Road atlas publishing
• Cartographic map products
• Educational geography atlases
• Decorative wall maps
• Desk and floor globes

Headquarters

HQ city

Rosemont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Physical Map and Atlas Sales: One-time purchase of physical products including road atlases, folded maps, wall maps, and globes sold through e-commerce and retail channels.
2. Educational Atlases and Teaching Materials: Sales of classroom atlases, geography resources, and teaching guides to schools and educational institutions through dedicated education sales channels.
3. Collectible and Specialty Maps: Specialty products including The Official Map of the Route 66 Centennial, vintage wall maps, and commemorative editions targeting collectors and enthusiasts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rand McNally Publishing is a private cartographic publisher that produces printed road atlases, folded road maps, wall maps, globes, and educational geography materials. It also operates sub-brands including DeLorme (topographic gazetteers), Replogle (globes), and Thomas Brothers Maps (regional wall maps), and holds official designations such as the Route 66 Centennial Map Provider.

Product overview

Rand McNally Publishing is a cartographic and educational publishing company offering a diverse portfolio of physical map and atlas products. The core product lines include annual road atlases (the flagship 2027 Road Atlas series in multiple formats including standard, large-scale, and midsize Easy-to-Read versions), the Road Atlas & National Park Guide, and the Motor Carriers' Road Atlas for commercial drivers. Specialty products include The Official Map of the Route 66 Centennial. Educational products span classroom atlases for grades K-12 (Primary Atlas, Junior Classroom Atlas, Classroom Atlas, Atlas of the United States, Atlas of American History, Historical Atlas of the World), the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer topographic series, and Digital Teaching Tools. Additional product categories include folded road maps, wall maps, vintage wall maps for decor, desk and floor globes under the Replogle brand, and kids geography products. Sub-brands include Rand McNally, DeLorme maps, Replogle, and Thomas Brothers Maps.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Replogle: Globe brand offering desk globes, floor globes, and educational globes for home, school, and office use.
• DeLorme
• Thomas Brothers Maps

Products and services

• 2027 Rand McNally Road Atlas Annual flagship road atlas for consumer travelers, featuring updated cartography of U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and Mexico, plus curated road trip itineraries and historic route spotlights.
• 2027 Road Atlas & National Park Guide Combined road atlas and national park guide covering all 63 U.S. national parks with QR codes linking to the National Park Service website for each park, plus historical timeline content.
• 2027 Large Scale Road Atlas Large-format version of the annual flagship road atlas with enhanced map detail for improved readability.
• 2027 Midsize Easy to Read Road Atlas Compact-format annual road atlas designed for portability and easier readability.
• 2027 Motor Carriers' Road Atlas Annual road atlas designed for commercial drivers and trucking professionals, providing truck-specific route planning, highway restriction, and logistics information.
• 2027 Deluxe Motor Carriers' Road Atlas Premium spiral-bound annual edition of the Motor Carriers' Road Atlas for professional drivers.
• The Official Map of the Route 66 Centennial Officially sanctioned commemorative folded map celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66 (1926-2026), featuring historic and modern route alignments, 66 essential stops, and QR codes linking to centennial events.
• Rand McNally Folded Road Maps Folded road maps covering U.S. cities, regions, and states with updated cartography, Interstate, U.S., state, and county highways, parks, points of interest, and detailed indexes, priced at $6.99-$10.99.
• Rand McNally Wall Maps Large-format wall maps including U.S. national maps, state and regional maps, world wall maps, and city-specific wall maps.
• Rand McNally Vintage Wall Maps Decorative vintage-style wall maps featuring historic cartography for wall art and decor across city, historic, railroad, and state themes.
• Desk Globes Desktop globes in various sizes and styles including illuminated, antique-ocean, raised-relief, and educational models.
• Floor Globes Large floor-standing globes including illuminated models with LED lighting and walnut-colored bases, priced up to $495.00.
• Classroom Atlas (Grades 4-9) 14th Edition educational atlas for middle school students with over 200 pages of maps, photos, infographics, critical-thinking questions, and 100+ physical, political, and thematic maps, correlated to National Geography Standards. Priced at $18.00 single copy or $568.00 for a set of 30.
• Junior Classroom Atlas (Grades 2-4) Educational atlas designed for elementary students in grades 2-4 with age-appropriate maps and geography content.
• Primary Atlas (Grades K-3) Introductory atlas for early elementary students in grades K-3 with foundational geography content.
• Atlas of American History (Grades 5-12+) Historical atlas covering American history for middle and high school students.
• Historical Atlas of the World (Grades 5-12+) World historical atlas for middle and high school students.
• Atlas of the United States (Grades 3-6) U.S. geography atlas for elementary students in grades 3-6 featuring extensive coverage, map skills sections, and 10 U.S. history maps.
• DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer Series State-specific topographic atlas and gazetteer series providing detailed outdoor recreation maps with topographic information, trailheads, fishing spots, and GPS-compatible coordinates for backcountry exploration, priced at $24.95-$29.95 per state.
• Digital Teaching Tools Digital educational resources for classroom use including pull-down map sets and mounting hardware for instructors.
• Kids Geography Products Geography and map products for children including activity books, kids globes, maps and atlases, and wall maps.

Quantifiable outcome

• 103 consecutive annual editions published
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Route 66 Road Ahead PartnershipminorOthers · 30 January 2026A portion of each sale of The Official Map of the Route 66 Centennial supports the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership's Preservation and Economic Development Grant Program, a non-profit dedicated to revitalizing and sustaining Route 66.
• Route 66 Centennial CommissionflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 4 November 2025Rand McNally Publishing was named the Official Map Provider for the Route 66 Centennial celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of Route 66 (1926-2026). The partnership grants exclusive rights to produce officially sanctioned maps featuring historic and modern route alignments, QR codes linking to event directories, available for purchase in January 2026.
• AvenzacoreTechnology or IntegrationHistoric partnership with Avenza making trusted Rand McNally maps digitally available for the first time, enabling digital map distribution through Avenza's platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Replogle Globes: Replogle is both a Rand McNally sub-brand and an established standalone globe manufacturer; its broader catalog competes head-to-head with the Rand McNally globe line in education and decor.
• Kappa Map Group: Kappa Map Group is a large U.S. publisher of wall maps, folded maps, and educational map products, serving many of the same retail and education channels as Rand McNally Publishing.
• National Geographic Maps: National Geographic's map division publishes consumer and educational wall maps, atlases, and globes — directly overlapping Rand McNally's core trade and reference publishing lines, including globes and educational materials.
• Universal Map (UniversalMAP): Universal Map publishes state, regional, and specialty folded and wall maps targeting the same travel and education end-markets as Rand McNally.

Broad incumbents

• Garmin: Garmin dominates dedicated GPS navigation hardware and maps for consumer and commercial drivers, representing the principal secular headwind to Rand McNally's Motor Carriers' and road atlas lines.
• AAA (American Automobile Association): AAA publishes TripTik route maps and travel guides for its members, historically competing with Rand McNally in printed travel-planning materials, though its emphasis has shifted to digital services.
• Google Maps: Google Maps is the dominant free digital navigation platform, displacing printed road atlases for the majority of consumer and commercial trip planning use cases.

Emerging players

• National Geographic Education: National Geographic Education provides standards-aligned K-12 geography resources and atlases, competing for the same school district and library budgets that purchase Rand McNally's classroom atlas line.
• Maps.com: Maps.com is a digital-first map retailer and custom map publisher that complements its e-commerce storefront with educational and travel mapping — a slimmer, more digital native analog to Rand McNally's storefront.

Regional players

• Freytag & Berndt: Freytag & Berndt is a European map and atlas publisher with a long heritage; comparable to Rand McNally in product mix, though primarily serving European rather than U.S. road-trip audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rand-mcnally-publishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Rand McNally Publishing