AIT Worldwide Logistics announced late Sunday night it has acquired Australian freight forwarder Connor Anderson International, giving the fast-growing Chicago-based freight forwarder a significant foothold in the Oceania market and the ability to capitalize on the boom in data center construction there.
Connor Anderson manages air, ocean and road transportation, customs clearance and project cargo for customers, with a large number of technology clients in Australia and New Zealand. It operates facilities in Sydney and Melbourne.
AIT said high-tech customers asked it to expand its capabilities in Australia and that it also expects to win business from the aerospace and automotive industries there. Connor Anderson has helped AIT Worldwide move freight in and out of the country for 15 years.
The transaction will enable AIT Worldwide to securely deliver cloud computing components and other sophisticated equipment required by artificial intelligence companies.
“This acquisition, and the rapid integration that will follow, demonstrates our strategic response to customers in the region and serves as the foundation for AIT’s long-term expansion to serve Oceania more broadly,” said Ray Fennelly, AIT’s chief development officer, in a new release. “CAI’s addition will help our customers scale faster in Oceania and execute complex projects with confidence.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Why It Matters: Merger and acquisition activity is heating up in the third-party logistics market and AIT continues to be a serial acquirer. Logistics companies are rushing to meet the supply chain needs of AI hyperscalers that require fast and precise freight transportation services.
Last week, Scan Global Logistics in Denmark agreed to buy Portland, Oregon-based OIA Global.
AIT Worldwide is the 43rd largest logistics provider in the world by gross revenue and number 22 in the United States, according to Armstrong & Associates. The company is projecting about $4.5 billion in gross revenue — which includes money collected for purchased transportation costs — in 2026, up from $3.56 billion last year.
AIT started in 1979 as a domestic freight forwarder with a focus on air freight. It now brokers air, ocean and road shipments, provides customs clearance services and warehousing, and has 158 offices worldwide. In February, Greenbrier Equity Group purchased a majority stake in AIT from The Jordan Company and AIT management, giving it greater resources to pursue expansion in key global markets.
Connor Anderson is the fifteenth acquisition AIT Worldwide has made in the past five years. In 2025, the company bought Miami-based forwarder GSDMIA Inc. and Krupp Trucking, a small St. Louis-based forwarder specializing in the transport of high value goods.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
RELATED STORIES:
AI gold rush transforms trans-Pacific trade and logistics
