In a year when most forwarders have struggled to keep margins afloat, Expeditors International of Washington has quietly done something rare — it beat expectations.

The company’s third-quarter report, released Tuesday, showed that while global air and ocean volumes stayed muted, the group’s customs brokerage and compliance division surged, cushioning the drop in core forwarding revenue. The driver wasn’t volume, but complexity: tariff changes, re-routed cargo, and the growing maze of trade paperwork.

Chief executive Jeffrey Musser called it a reminder that “information can be as valuable as freight.” With shippers scrambling to adapt to shifting U.S.–China duties and new carbon-reporting rules in Europe, Expeditors found steady demand for advisory work that helps goods keep moving — even when prices soften.

The company’s margins held firmer than peers, helped by lower operating costs and disciplined procurement. Analysts noted that this blend of tech-supported visibility and old-school expertise is proving more resilient than pure rate-based forwarding.

Expeditors didn’t promise a quick rebound for freight markets, but its tone was quietly confident: as trade routes keep changing, someone still has to navigate the paperwork. For now, that’s become its most profitable cargo of all.

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