Schiphol Air Freight Ranking Reshuffles as AIT and Milestone Gain Thousands of Tonnes

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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s freight forwarding market underwent a significant reshuffle in 2025, with several established operators losing substantial export tonnage while AIT Worldwide, Milestone Shypple and Geodis recorded some of the strongest gains.

The changes came during a weaker year for the airport’s overall cargo market. Schiphol handled 1.43 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, around 4% less than the 1.49 million tonnes recorded in 2024. Full cargo flights declined 2% to 15,348.

Against that backdrop, movements within the freight forwarder ranking were considerably larger than the overall market contraction. Several operators, including DSV, IAA, Expeditors, KLN Logistics, EV Cargo and Nedairfreight, surrendered significant export tonnage, while a different group captured additional volumes.

Expeditors and UPS lose ground
Expeditors recorded an export volume decline of around 20% and fell from fourth position in 2024 to sixth place in the latest ranking.
The decline stands out because Expeditors has previously experienced sharp annual movements in its Dutch air freight volumes. In 2024, the Seattle based logistics company had recorded growth of almost 30%.

The company’s Dutch performance also contrasts with its global results. Expeditors reported that worldwide air freight tonnage increased 6% during 2025, with growth across all regions. The company said tariff related trade effects influenced demand patterns and rates during the year.

That makes it difficult to attribute the decline at Schiphol directly to United States trade policy. However, changing United States import tariffs clearly affected international air cargo flows during 2025 as shippers accelerated, postponed or redirected shipments in response to changing duty levels.

UPS also lost ground in the Schiphol ranking. Its export tonnage declined about 12.5%, representing a reduction of more than 2,000 tonnes. The company, which had ranked among the ten largest operators in 2024, slipped to twelfth position.

The United States remains an important destination for outbound cargo from the Netherlands. In 2025 it ranked behind China as the second largest destination for outgoing Dutch air freight, making changes in transatlantic demand particularly relevant for Schiphol based forwarders.

KLN and EV Cargo continue multiyear declines
KLN Logistics recorded one of the sharper contractions, with export volume falling around 24%. The former Kerry Logistics operation dropped six positions to number 25.

The decline extends a trend that started earlier. KLN handled 11,238 tonnes in 2023 when it occupied fourteenth position. Its export volume subsequently fell around 15% in 2024 before declining again in 2025. Almost 4,000 tonnes have disappeared from its Schiphol export total in two years.

The volume reduction does not mean KLN is retreating from the Netherlands. The company opened an upgraded 61,000 square foot bonded logistics facility in Hoofddorp in 2025, with 40% of its operational capacity allocated to electronic commerce shipments.

EV Cargo, ranked eighteenth, also continued a downward trend. Its Schiphol export volume has declined by almost 1,800 tonnes since 2023.
Nedairfreight, now in position 46, recorded a similar but smaller movement, losing around 1,100 tonnes over the same period.

The available ranking data does not establish a single explanation for these declines. Changes in customer portfolios, procurement strategies, consolidation patterns and routing decisions can cause substantial movements between individual forwarders even when overall airport cargo volumes change relatively little.

AIT and Milestone lead the gainers
At the other end of the ranking, AIT Worldwide Logistics generated the largest absolute increase, adding about 8,000 tonnes.

Rotterdam based Milestone Shypple followed with an increase of 6,362 tonnes, placing it ahead of Geodis, which added 5,642 tonnes.
Some smaller operators achieved even faster percentage growth. Simple Cargo increased its volume by 122% and jumped from position 43 to position 27.

Dutch operators IDA Cargo and salmon logistics specialist Avi Air were among the relatively small number of companies appearing among the strongest performers for a second consecutive year.

Air Cargo Alliance increased tonnage by around 60%, moving from position 25 to 21. Manager Rogier van der Zwan expects another increase of roughly 40% during 2026, which could put the company within the twenty largest operators if that growth is achieved.

Kuehne Nagel and subsidiary Apex also recorded substantial growth at Schiphol. Combined, the two operations added more than 7,000 tonnes of export cargo during 2025.
That increase alone was roughly equivalent to the entire annual outbound volume handled by KLN Logistics, illustrating how quickly cargo can shift between forwarders at one of Europe’s largest air freight gateways.