KUEHNE+NAGEL
A Swiss-based global logistics group specializing in sea and air freight forwarding, road logistics, contract logistics, and integrated supply-chain services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KUEHNE+NAGEL is an international transport and logistics group whose origins date to a forwarding agency founded by August Kühne and Friedrich Nagel in Bremen, Germany, in 1890. The company began by arranging cotton and consolidated freight and later expanded to Hamburg and other European markets. Its name retains the surname of co-founder Friedrich Nagel, even though the Nagel family ceased to control the business early in the twentieth century. The company developed through several distinct phases. After the First World War and the death of August Kühne in 1932, his sons Alfred and Werner became partners. The firm’s conduct during the Nazi period is a major and documented part of its history: after Jewish partner Adolf Maass was forced out in 1933, the company participated in the transport of property confiscated from Jewish households in occupied Western Europe, including activity connected with the Nazi regime’s M-Aktion. This history has generated continuing criticism and public pressure for commemoration. From the 1950s onward, KUEHNE+NAGEL pursued international expansion, opening operations in Canada and developing businesses in Italy, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and other markets. In 1975, Kuehne + Nagel International AG was established as the group’s Swiss holding company in Schindellegi. Klaus-Michael Kühne, a third-generation family member, joined the business in the 1960s and became its central long-term business leader. After a period of shared ownership with Lonrho, the Kühne interests repurchased Lonrho’s stake in 1992, and the company went public in 1994. Today the group is organized around Sea Logistics, Air Logistics, Road Logistics, and Contract Logistics. Its services include freight forwarding, customs-related support, warehousing, distribution, supply-chain design, fourth-party logistics management, supplier and inventory management, aftermarket logistics, and supply-chain technology. It serves industries including aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, high technology, industrial products, oil and gas, retail, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare. The company combines physical transport networks with information technology and supply-chain coordination, positioning itself as an integrated logistics partner rather than only a freight intermediary. KUEHNE+NAGEL operates in more than 100 countries through a large office and warehouse network. Its recent expansion has included customs brokerage, marine drayage, perishables logistics, and major event logistics. The group remains publicly listed in Switzerland under ticker KNIN, while Klaus-Michael Kühne remains its principal owner and a highly influential figure. Stefan Paul has served as chief executive since 2022.
History
KUEHNE+NAGEL began in 1890 when August Kühne and Friedrich Nagel established a forwarding commission agency in Bremen. The early business concentrated on cotton and consolidated cargo, then expanded to Hamburg in 1902. Friedrich Nagel died in 1907, after which August Kühne acquired his partner’s shares; the Nagel name nevertheless remained part of the corporate identity. The First World War disrupted the business. Following August Kühne’s death in 1932, his sons Alfred and Werner joined the partnership. In April 1933, Jewish partner Adolf Maass was forced out of the company, and the Kühne brothers joined the Nazi Party shortly thereafter. During the Nazi period, the company and subcontractors transported property confiscated from Jewish households in German-occupied Western Europe. Its activity included the M-Aktion, a Nazi program that removed furnishings from tens of thousands of apartments in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The company’s wartime expansion helped create capabilities that later supported its post-war growth, while its wartime conduct was not fully confronted publicly for decades. International expansion resumed in the early post-war period. The company entered Canada in the 1950s, expanded into Italy and other European markets, and took a controlling interest in the Athens-based Proodos in 1963. Klaus-Michael Kühne joined the firm in the mid-1960s after training in banking and became executive chairman in 1966. He drove expansion in Europe and the Far East and later became the dominant long-term figure in the group. In 1975, Kuehne + Nagel International AG was established as a Swiss holding company headquartered in Schindellegi. After Alfred Kühne died in 1981, the family sold half of the business to Lonrho for 90 million Deutsche marks following losses related to attempts to expand a shipping fleet. Klaus-Michael Kühne and Lonrho chairman Roland Rowland jointly led the combined organization. During this period, the group acquired or expanded freight businesses in Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The company repurchased Lonrho’s 50% stake in 1992 and went public in 1994, with listings in Zurich and Frankfurt. The 1990 German reunification provided an opportunity to integrate operations in the former East Germany. The group also expanded into Russia and strengthened its contract-logistics activities, including a major distribution arrangement for DuPont in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In 1999, Klaus Herms succeeded Klaus-Michael Kühne as chief executive, while Kühne continued as executive chairman and board president. During the 2000s, KUEHNE+NAGEL broadened its Asian contract-logistics footprint through a strategic alliance with Singapore-based SembCorp Logistics and acquired USCO Logistics in the United States in 2001. The partnership with SembCorp ended in 2004 as the companies pursued different strategies. Reinhard Lange succeeded Klaus Herms in 2009, followed by Detlef Trefzger in 2013 and Stefan Paul in 2022. The group has continued to expand through specialized logistics. It acquired contracts from Canada’s Perishables International Transportation in 2012, agreed in 2013 to combine its rail-freight business with VTG in a new rail-logistics venture, acquired Canadian customs broker Farrow in 2023, and bought a 51% stake in U.S. marine drayage company IMC Logistics in 2024. Its operating model now combines sea, air, road, contract, customs, warehousing, and technology-enabled supply-chain management. The company’s wartime history has also become the subject of civic commemoration. A Bremen initiative involving local media and the Jewish community sought a memorial addressing the company’s role in the dispossession of Jewish victims. A memorial on public land near the Weser River was inaugurated in 2022, approximately 150 metres from the company’s headquarters. KUEHNE+NAGEL remains an active, publicly listed global logistics group with a controlling influence associated with Klaus-Michael Kühne.
- 2024
IMC Logistics majority stake acquired
[1]The company acquires 51% of U.S. marine drayage operator IMC Logistics.
- 2023
Farrow acquisition agreed
[1]KUEHNE+NAGEL agrees to acquire Ontario customs broker Farrow.
- 2022
Bremen memorial inaugurated
[1]A public memorial addressing the company’s role in Nazi-era looting is inaugurated near the Weser River.
- 2014
VTG Rail Logistics begins operations
[1]The group’s rail-freight business is combined with VTG in a new rail-logistics venture.
- 2012
Perishables logistics expansion
[1]The company acquires business contracts from Perishables International Transportation to expand fresh and frozen food logistics.
- 2001
USCO Logistics acquired
[1]The group acquires U.S. warehouse-based logistics provider USCO Logistics.
- 1994
Public listing
[1]KUEHNE+NAGEL becomes publicly traded in Zurich and Frankfurt.
- 1992
Lonrho stake repurchased
[1]The Kühne interests buy back Lonrho’s 50% holding.
- 1975
Swiss holding company established
[1]Kuehne + Nagel International AG is formed in Schindellegi, Switzerland, as the group’s ultimate holding company.
- 1933
Change in ownership during the Nazi period
[1]Jewish partner Adolf Maass is forced out, and Alfred and Werner Kühne join the Nazi Party.
Products and positioning
A technology-enabled global logistics integrator offering end-to-end freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution, customs, and supply-chain management for multinational and industrial customers.
Ocean freight forwarding
Sea Logistics
The group’s ocean-freight business arranges international containerized and other sea transportation, coordinating carrier capacity, documentation, inland road and rail movements, customs-related processes, and shipment visibility. It serves large industrial and consumer supply chains and is one of the company’s core global forwarding activities.
Air freight forwarding
Air Logistics
Air Logistics provides air-cargo forwarding and associated pickup, delivery, documentation, customs, and supply-chain coordination. The service is used for time-sensitive, high-value, temperature-sensitive, and internationally distributed goods across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, automotive, and high technology.
Road transport and overland logistics
Road Logistics
Road Logistics coordinates overland freight movements and related road and rail connections. It supports domestic and cross-border transport, freight consolidation, distribution, and the inland legs that connect ocean and air shipments with factories, warehouses, retailers, and final customers.
Warehousing and distribution
Contract Logistics
Contract Logistics provides outsourced warehousing, inventory handling, fulfillment, distribution, and operational management. The business is designed for customers seeking a dedicated logistics partner rather than individual freight transactions, and it supports industry-specific supply chains in areas including retail, healthcare, automotive, and industrial goods.
Supply-chain management
Kuehne+Nagel Integrated Logistics
Integrated Logistics combines supply-chain design and coordination with services such as fourth-party logistics management, supplier and inventory management, aftermarket management, and supply-chain technology. It acts as a central operational interface for customers that want broader control over multiple logistics providers, flows, and performance data.
Controversies
2024
Milton Keynes office vandalism and activist allegations
Palestine Action vandalized the company’s Milton Keynes office and said it targeted KUEHNE+NAGEL over alleged assistance with weapons deliveries to Israel. The allegation is recorded as an activist claim rather than an independently established finding.
2014
Freight-forwarding cartel fine in New Zealand
New Zealand’s Commerce Commission fined KUEHNE+NAGEL for its involvement in a freight-forwarding cartel case involving six firms. Investigators said the participants used horticultural code names in discussing anti-competitive conduct.
1942
Participation in the M-Aktion property transports
KUEHNE+NAGEL and subcontractors helped move furnishings removed from Jewish homes under the Nazi regime’s M-Aktion. The activity included shipments from the Netherlands to Germany and has become a central subject in assessments of the company’s wartime history.
1933
Forced removal of Jewish partner and Nazi-era collaboration
Jewish partner Adolf Maass was forced out of the business in 1933. Under Alfred and Werner Kühne, the company later participated in Nazi transport operations involving property confiscated from Jewish households in occupied Western Europe.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023British Olympic Association and Paris 2024 logistics partnership
United Kingdom · France · International
The company became a logistics partner of the British Olympic Association and provided logistics services associated with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Outcome. The partnership extended KUEHNE+NAGEL’s presence in major international sporting events.
- 20202021 Rugby League World Cup logistics partnership
United Kingdom · International
KUEHNE+NAGEL was appointed official logistics partner of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, using its transport and event-logistics capabilities to support the international tournament.
Outcome. The partnership positioned the group as the tournament’s official logistics provider.
Brand decisions
2024
Acquire a majority stake in IMC LogisticsM&ABackground
Marine drayage connects ocean freight with inland distribution and is strategically important to containerized supply chains.
Action taken
KUEHNE+NAGEL acquired 51% of U.S. marine drayage company IMC Logistics.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded the group’s North American port, container, and inland logistics capabilities.
2023
Acquire FarrowM&ABackground
Customs expertise is increasingly important to cross-border logistics and integrated freight forwarding.
Action taken
The company agreed to acquire Farrow, an Ontario-based customs broker, with full ownership expected in early 2024.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened KUEHNE+NAGEL’s Canadian customs-brokerage and compliance capabilities.
2013
Combine rail operations with VTGStrategyBackground
The company sought to develop a larger private rail-freight platform in Europe.
Action taken
KUEHNE+NAGEL agreed to merge its rail-freight business with VTG to form VTG Rail Logistics.
Aftermath
The venture began operations in 2014 and was described as Europe’s largest private rail-freight business at launch.
2001
Acquire USCO LogisticsM&ABackground
The group wanted to strengthen its warehouse-based logistics and contract-logistics presence in North America.
Action taken
KUEHNE+NAGEL acquired USCO Logistics, a Connecticut-based logistics provider.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded the company’s U.S. contract-logistics capabilities.
1994
Go public in Zurich and FrankfurtStrategyBackground
After repurchasing Lonrho’s stake, the company sought a broader capital base and a platform for exchange-based acquisitions.
Action taken
KUEHNE+NAGEL listed shares on the Zurich and Frankfurt exchanges.
Aftermath
The listing supported subsequent acquisitions and the development of the group as a publicly traded global logistics company.
1975
Create a Swiss holding structureStrategyBackground
The expanding international group required a centralized corporate structure for ownership and management across multiple countries.
Action taken
Kuehne + Nagel International AG was established in Schindellegi as the ultimate holding company.
Aftermath
The Swiss holding structure became the organizational basis for later international expansion and public listing.
Recent events
IAG Cargo completes first sustainable aviation fuel charter chain[3]
Reported:
IAG Cargo completed its first sustainable aviation fuel charter chain of 16 flights from Stuttgart to Atlanta, working with Kuehne+Nagel and sourcing Neste-produced fuel. The final flight left Stuttgart on June 26.
Kuehne+Nagel announces acquisition of Apex[4]
Reported:
Kuehne+Nagel announced its acquisition of Apex, subject to closing conditions including merger review by the relevant antitrust authorities. The transaction had not yet completed.
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