Buying a logistics company in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

Jacksonville and Northeast Florida has 31 established logistics companies by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 71% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.

established companies

71%

built over 20+ years

$596k+

a year, earned by the top quarter

35%

built over 30+ years

What it takes to own one

Logistics companies in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.

A solid company

Earns about: $311,000 a year
Price about: $949,000
Your cash: $133,000
Could pay you: up to $140,000 a year

A strong company

Top quarter in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

Earns about: $596,000 a year
Price about: $1.8 million
Your cash: $254,000
Could pay you: up to $268,000 a year

One of the leaders

Top tenth in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

Earns about: $1.1 million a year
Price about: $3.3 million
Your cash: $469,000
Could pay you: up to $494,000 a year

Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 3.0 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.

Age, size and location

Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.

In business	Companies
Under 20 years	9
20 to 29 years	11
30 to 39 years	8
40 years or more	3

Estimated yearly revenue	Companies
Under $1M	4
$2M to $4M	1
$4M to $8M	2
Over $8M	2

County	Companies
Duval	25
Other counties	6

Town	Companies
Jacksonville	25

What the best logistics companies have in common

Many long-standing customers, not one dominant account.
A margin per shipment that holds up when freight rates rise or fall.
Customers who buy more than one service, such as customs clearance, trucking and storage, and are harder to lure away.
Trusted carriers and agents, and a routine for checking their authority and insurance on every load.
Experienced staff, not only the owner, who know the customers.
Software that tracks every shipment and invoice.
For warehouses, customer contracts that run several years and a lease that outlasts them.
A clean record with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Customs and other agencies.

What to check before you buy

Revenue and margin by customer and service (truckload, ocean, air, warehousing).
How fast the company pays carriers, and any unpaid carrier claims.
Past cargo claims and insurance, including coverage for loads the company arranges but doesn't haul.
Customer and warehouse contracts: length, whether they can be transferred to you, and limits on liability for lost or damaged goods.
Who holds the customs broker license or FMC qualification, and whether they'll stay after the sale.
Software and data: who owns the systems and customer data, and what they cost.
What customers owe and how overdue it is. A broker that gives shippers long payment terms is lending them money.

Questions to ask the owner

Who are your top ten customers, and who looks after each one?
How do you check carriers before you give them a load?
Who holds the customs or FMC licenses, and will they stay?
What happened to your margins when freight rates fell?
Have you had any cargo claims or payment disputes with carriers?
How much revenue comes from customers you brought in personally?
What software runs the business, and do you own it or rent it?

To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a logistics company in Florida.

Owning a company in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

The local economy

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

What's different about owning a company here

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.