Choosing a freight brokerage is a decision that can't be made on capacity alone. Technology, specialization, service model, and scale should all play a role in determining which provider is right for your business's needs — and the "best" brokerage for one shipper may be entirely wrong for another.
At ATS, we believe in the value the ATS Logistics Services, Inc. brokerage brings to shippers. But we also know there are times when a shipper’s needs, freight profile, or internal constraints may mean we’re not their best-fit solution.
When that happens, we point prospects toward brokerages we respect, trust, and know can execute. Our recommendations are always based on what we know about that shipper's specific needs, not vague referrals or generic industry names.
This list reflects exactly that. Below, we’ve outlined six freight brokerages we'd happily recommend to prospects if ATS Logistics Services, Inc. isn’t their best match. Each has proven strengths, a solid reputation in the market, and a service model that excels for specific types of shippers.
If you’re evaluating brokerage options for 2026, this guide is designed to help you narrow the field and focus on providers that can deliver real, reliable value.
About ATS Logistics Services, Inc.
ATS Logistics Services, Inc. is a full-service transportation brokerage and subsidiary of Anderson Trucking Service, Inc. Founded in 1989, ATS Logistics Services, Inc. has provided top-quality, relationship-driven freight brokerage services, connecting shippers across industries with reliable transportation services including full truckload (FTL), less-than-truckload (LTL), dry van, reefer, flatbed/open deck, and heavy haul.
While ATS Logistics Services, Inc. operates strictly as a freight brokerage, some affiliated companies within the Anderson Family of Companies operate asset-based transportation businesses. This affiliated capacity model allows ATS Logistics Services, Inc., to not only give shippers access to the flexibility of a diverse network of carriers, but also the stability and reliability associated with asset capacity.
How We Built Our List of Recommended Freight Brokerages
This list wasn’t pulled from industry rankings, a revenue table, or a “biggest brokers by volume” report. It was built the same way we approach brokerage recommendations with shippers every day: by leaning on experience, relationships, and firsthand knowledge of how the featured brokers actually operate.
To create this shortlist, we surveyed ATS Logistics Services, Inc. sales leaders and asked a simple question: If a shipper couldn’t work with us, which freight brokerages would you feel confident recommending — and why? These are professionals who spend their days inside shippers' supply chains, navigating real freight challenges, and working alongside other brokers across the industry.
Within their responses, certain brokerages were consistently named for the same reasons: strong execution, dependable people, and the ability to match the right solution to the right shipper — not just move freight at scale. Those repeat recommendations formed the foundation of this list.
It’s important to note what this list is not: it’s not a definitive ranking, and it’s not meant to suggest these are the only strong brokerages in the market. Freight brokerage is not one-size-fits-all. The “best” broker will always depend on a shipper’s freight mix, volume, service expectations, and unique requirements.
This list simply reflects the brokerages we would feel comfortable standing behind when ATS Logistics isn’t the right fit — because we trust their capabilities, their people, and how they show up for shippers.
Our Top Freight Brokerage Recommendations for 2026
In alphabetical order:
- Allen Lund Company
- Arrive Logistics
- Bay and Bay Transportation
- C.H. Robinson
- Trinity Logistics
- Warren Transport
Allen Lund Company
About Allen Lund Company
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026, the transportation brokerage company Allen Lund founded with $1,000 in his pocket now boasts over $1 billion in annual revenue. Fittingly, the family-owned company is also one of the Top 50 Logistics Companies according to Transport Topics, sitting at #47.
Allen Lund Company (ALC) got its start in refrigerated (reefer) freight, a focus it continues to prioritize today. Businesses shipping produce or other food and beverage freight will therefore be particularly strong fits for this brokerage.
While ALC's area of strength is reefer freight, it's not a strictly specialized brokerage. The company brokers over 640,000 loads per year to its network of reefer, dry van, flatbed, LTL carriers. The company also has an international division that allows it to serve customers globally.
ALC offers customers a robust technology suite that includes software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for reporting and operational support, business intelligence solutions, online freight tracking, and 24/7 live customer service delivered by a team of 40 logistics professionals.
Why We Chose Allen Lund Company
Like ATS, Allen Lund Company was founded on one man's dream to deliver top-quality transportation services through a commitment to deeply held values. If you can't work with ATS Logistics but like the feel of a family-owned brokerage, ALC is comparable in terms of its network size, diversity of services offered, and approach to customer service.
Additionally, ALC is known throughout the industry to have good, solid people working in the best interests of their customers — a review the ATS team can gladly co-sign.
We'd Recommend Allen Lund Company If You . . .
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Ship refrigerated freight, particularly produce or food and beverage products that require reefer experts to maintain tight temperature control and careful handling
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Ship a mix of freight types and want one brokerage that can manage that diversity
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Value working with a family-owned company, but still need the scale and network strength of a Top 50 logistics provider
Arrive Logistics
About Arrive Logistics
In just over a decade, Arrive Logistics has skyrocketed to the top of the list of North America's largest truckload brokerages. Now the fourth-largest domestic truckload brokerage with more than 10,000 core carriers in its network (40,000 carriers total), Arrive averages 7,000 loads moved daily.
Arrive's exponential rate of growth and high throughput are supported in no small part by the company's tech-forward approach that balances automation and human expertise. Its proprietary ARRIVEnow™ platform unites shippers, carriers, Arrive employees through a full suite of digital solutions accessible from a single self-service portal.
For shippers, this includes instant freight quotes, 24/7 shipment tracking, and document management; for carriers, the platform offers comprehensive load search, bid, and book functions, and 24/7 support.
Why We Chose Arrive Logistics
Arrive is the youngest broker on our list, having emerged as a highly competitive player in the brokerage space. Highly awarded by their many major customers (Target, Ulta, Sysco, US Foods, The Home Depot, and Anheuser-Busch among them), this is clearly a brokerage that can walk the walk and talk the talk.
Their significant investment in technology has positioned them as a broker for the next generation of freight shippers — those who see tech integration, data-backed optimization, and innovation as highly-valued differentiators in their supply chain solution providers.
We'd Recommend Arrive Logistics If You . . .
- Prefer a mostly digital broker experience
- Prioritize streamlined, self-service processes over person-to-person interactions
- Want to form a long-term relationship with a brokerage that has its finger on the pulse of the latest transportation industry technologies
Bay and Bay Transportation
About Bay and Bay Transportation
While they're best known for their refrigerated (reefer) trucking services and cold chain logistics solutions (ranking #13 on Transport Topics' annual list of the Top Refrigerated Carriers), Minnesota-based Bay and Bay is a nationwide, full-service brokerage with over 80 years of transportation industry experience.
Bay and Bay is an asset-based third-party logistics provider (3PL), meaning the company maintains a logistics arm as well as its own fleet. For shippers who value asset access and scalability equally, this brokerage service model can be ideal; it pairs the reliability of an asset carrier with the flexibility of a broker's network.
Bay and Bay's brokerage division has substantial experience in specialized open-deck transportation in addition to cross-border, intermodal rail, LTL, and power-only solutions.
Why We Chose Bay and Bay Transportation
Bay and Bay consistently ranks on Transport Topics' list of the Top 100 Freight Brokerage Firms, and their unique expertise in reefer and open-deck solutions makes them a compelling choice for shippers with niched-down needs.
Additionally, their service history spans a diverse range of industries, from fresh and frozen foods to raw materials and ingredients to industrial manufacturing, construction equipment, and data center freight. If your freight is in any way specialized, Bay and Bay could be a good fit for your business.
Finally, ATS has a great rapport with the Bay and Bay team. We know them to be true advocates for the transportation industry and those who keep it moving, both on and off the road.
We'd Recommend Bay and Bay Transportation If You . . .
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Regularly ship temperature-sensitive freight and need proven reefer and cold chain expertise
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Move specialized freight, such as open-deck or oversized loads, or operate in an industry in which freight requirements are highly specific
- Need one provider that can manage multiple modes under a single service model
C.H. Robinson
About C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson operates the largest freight brokerage in North America and among the biggest globally, managing 37 million shipments annually and a network of over 450,000 contract carriers worldwide.
Their freight brokerage services span truckload, LTL, air, and ocean transportation, in addition to solutions like drop trailer programs, temperature-controlled freight, specialized transportation, and cross-border freight.
In addition to its behemoth size and status in the industry, the brokerage is known for its massive investments in technology. In 2019, the company announced a half-decade, $1 billion investment in tech designed to transform its services through AI, machine learning, and data analytics.
As part of those efforts, C.H. Robinson announced its robust AI-driven logistics platform in late 2025. The company purports their solution "understands context, makes decisions in real time, and self-optimizes global supply chains at scale" thanks to 30+ connected AI agents, the largest dataset in the transportation industry, and Lean AI, a proprietary AI model informed by Lean operational methodology.
Why We Chose C.H. Robinson
A true industry leader, C.H. Robinson offers unmatched scale, global reach, and advanced automation across modes — which means no matter what commodity you're shipping, C.H. Robinson will have a solution that gets it moving fast.
If you ship high-volume, standardized freight, you may appreciate C.H. Robinson's network density and enterprise-level execution, plus the visibility afforded by their state-of-the-art tech tools. They are best suited for shippers whose primary priorities are efficiency, consistency, and broad coverage.
We'd Recommend C.H. Robinson If You . . .
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Ship high volumes of standardized freight and need a brokerage that can consistently execute across thousands (or millions) of annual loads without friction.
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Have operational efficiency as your primary goal, value scale and coverage over specialization, and are less interested in highly customized freight strategies.
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Your freight needs cross multiple regions and/or modes, and you want one broker that can handle it all.
Trinity Logistics
About Trinity Logistics
Trinity Logistics is a 3PL and freight broker with over 45 years' experience arranging shipments across truckload, LTL, intermodal, drayage, expedited, and international shipping modes. Trinity coordinates over 1,450 shipments daily (or over half a million annually) and currently ranks #24 on Transport Topics' list of the Top 100 Freight Brokerage Firms.
In 2019, the company was acquired by Burris Logistics, a 3PL specializing in supply chain solutions for foodservice companies. Trinity likewise counts food and beverage freight among its areas of strength, along with chemical, construction, and manufacturing freight. The acquisition also allows Trinity to connect customers with asset capacity when desired.
Trinity calls its approach to customer service "People-Centric," and operates with both employee and freight agent (non-employee contractors) teams. It complements its teams' expertise with technology like a digital Customer Portal, EDI and API capabilities, and other conveniences like self-service automated LTL quoting and booking.
Why We Chose Trinity Logistics
Like ATS Logistics, Trinity has a strong reputation in the industry and emphasizes a consultative, customer-oriented approach, with brokerage teams working as extensions of shipper logistics departments.
And the similarities don't stop there. Both ATS (Anderson Assistance Foundation) and Trinity Logistics (The Trinity Foundation) live their commitments to their values through associated charitable organizations.
What's more, Trinity Logistics recently became our neighbors in Central Minnesota, having acquired Granite Logistics in early 2026. Granite Logistics previously spent nearly 14 years as a freight agent of Trinity, and its acquisition added two regional service centers in Minneapolis and Sartell to Trinity's roster.
In short: if working with a people-first, values-driven company with a strong Midwestern footprint is important to you, Trinity Logistics could be a good fit.\
We'd Recommend Trinity Logistics If You . . .
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Ship temperature-controlled freight, especially food and beverage or chemical goods
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Want brokerage flexibility with optional asset access, warehousing, or drayage solutions
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Value working with a people-focused organization, especially one with a visible commitment to community involvement
Warren Specialized Logistics
About Warren Specialized Logistics
Warren Transport has over 75 years of transportation industry experience, and its brokerage company, Warren Specialized Logistics, benefits from those decades of knowledge.
Warren is a subsidiary of Anderson Trucking Service. We know the Warren Specialized Logistics team to have heaps of expertise — particularly in open-deck and specialized shipping, thanks to their company's history.
Warren started its life as a rail alternative for the open-deck transportation of farm equipment. While it's known as a premier transportation provider for agricultural, the company also has significant experience in dry van, freight brokerage, and cross-border shipping services to Mexico via its Laredo, Texas terminal.
Warren is also known in the industry for its commitment to safety. The company has won over 30 National Safety Awards and 154 state awards for safety over its seven decades as a transportation provider.
Why We Chose Warren Specialized Logistics
While Warren is part of the Anderson Family of Companies, it is unique among its sister companies. Unlike ATS Logistics, Warren Specialized Logistics is an asset-backed brokerage, as it is owned by Warren Transport, which owns assets like trucks and trailers.
This gives shippers essentially the same benefit as Bay and Bay's asset-based 3PL model, e.g. asset-backed confidence and reliability meets carrier network flexibility.
Given ATS's relationship with Warren, we've grown to know their team personally over the years. If you enjoy working with good people who are as down-to-earth as they are deeply grounded in transportation expertise, we think you may appreciate the approach of Warren's logistics professionals.
We'd Recommend Warren Specialized Logistics If You . . .
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Ship open-deck freight that calls for hands-on, mode-specific transportation experience
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Prioritize safety and want a brokerage backed by a carrier with a long, award-winning safety record
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Manage a supply chain that benefits from strong carrier alignment, where an asset-based ownership entity helps reinforce accountability, execution, and service standards
Choosing the Right Freight Brokerage for Your Business in 2026
There’s no single “best” freight brokerage for every shipper — and that’s the point. The strongest broker for your operation is the one whose strengths align with your freight profile, shipping regions, and service expectations.
The brokerages highlighted here each stand out in different ways. Some lead with technology and self-service efficiency. Others win on specialization, asset access, or deeply personalized execution. Each has earned its place on our list by consistently delivering value in the areas that matter most to specific types of shippers.
As you evaluate brokerage options, focus less on who’s biggest or most well-known and more on how a broker can support your day-to-day realities. Consider your freight complexity, volume consistency, interest in (or tolerance for) automation, and appetite for hands-on collaboration.
The right fit should reduce friction, not add to it — and ideally, it should feel like an extension of your logistics team, not a layer you have to manage around.
With the right brokerage by your side, you can move smarter, adapt faster, and build a supply chain that can keep up with whatever 2026 throws your way.
