AIT Buys Australian Forwarder Connor Anderson to Chase Data Center Boom

AIT Worldwide Logistics has bought Australian forwarder Connor Anderson International, its fifteenth acquisition in five years and its entry ticket into the Oceania data center buildout. Terms were not disclosed.

Connor Anderson, which runs facilities in Sydney and Melbourne, manages air, ocean and road transport, customs clearance and project cargo. Its client book skews heavily toward technology customers in Australia and New Zealand — exactly the profile AIT says its existing high-tech shippers asked it to serve.

The deal, announced late Sunday night, gives the Chicago-based forwarder the local infrastructure to move cloud computing components and other sensitive equipment that artificial intelligence companies need delivered fast and intact. It's a capability play, not just a network add.

AIT also expects the Australian operation to win new business from aerospace and automotive customers in the region.

What does this change for shippers?

For AIT's existing tech customers, it removes a handoff. Connor Anderson has quietly moved freight in and out of Australia on AIT's behalf for 15 years, so the two companies already know each other's operations. Now that sub-contracted relationship becomes owned capacity — with faster integration and a single accountable party for complex project cargo.

Ray Fennelly, AIT's chief development officer, framed the deal as both a response and a foundation. "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," he said. "CAI's addition will help our customers scale faster in Oceania and execute complex projects with confidence."

For competitors, the message is that AIT is still buying. Third-party logistics M&A is heating up, and much of the urgency traces back to AI hyperscalers — companies that need precise, time-critical freight for server hardware and can pay for it. Last week, Denmark's Scan Global Logistics agreed to buy Portland, Oregon-based OIA Global, another mid-market forwarder consolidation.

A serial acquirer with fresh capital

AIT is not dabbling. The company ranks 43rd among the world's logistics providers by gross revenue and 22nd in the United States, according to Armstrong & Associates. It projects roughly $4.5 billion in gross revenue for 2026, up from $3.56 billion last year — a figure that includes money collected for purchased transportation costs.

The company started in 1979 as a domestic air freight forwarder. Today it brokers air, ocean and road shipments, handles customs clearance and warehousing, and runs 158 offices worldwide.

Its acquisition engine got a fresh fuel line in February, when Greenbrier Equity Group bought a majority stake from The Jordan Company and AIT management. That deal, AIT said at the time, gave it greater resources to pursue expansion in key global markets. Connor Anderson is the first visible payoff.

Earlier in 2025, AIT bought two smaller targets: Miami-based forwarder GSDM Inc. and Krupp Trucking, a St. Louis forwarder specializing in high-value goods. Both fit the same pattern — niche capabilities, bolted onto a growing global network.

The Connor Anderson purchase adds a different layer: a geographic beachhead in a region where data center construction is pulling sophisticated equipment across borders, and where local customs, project cargo and last-mile expertise can't easily be brokered from Chicago.

Expect more of this. Logistics providers are racing to build out the precision freight capabilities AI hyperscalers demand, and AIT — cash-backed by Greenbrier and projecting $1 billion in gross revenue growth this cycle — has shown it would rather buy that capability than build it.