The world’s biggest freight carriers all got a little bigger this year as demand for transportation surged across the globe. Here's the 2018 Top 50 Global Freight Carrier rankings.

A surge in global shipping volume is adding urgency to ­efforts to increase the efficiency of cargo handling at seaports and inland waterways.

The global transportation services market was estimated at about $5.8 trillion last year, and there is much at stake for ­legacy freight forwarding, logistics and supply-­chain management companies.

As motor carriers enjoy the fruits of the tight freight environment, railroads are continuing their push to boost earnings while they adjust to a market that increasingly is shifting toward intermodal.

The most important factor in boosting business across the United States is a solid network of highways and rail lines that connect the community to domestic and foreign markets.

The future of rail transportation literally may be up in the air. Entrepreneurs and engineers from around the world have proposed radical concepts for hauling freight and passengers, including a multistory flying train, a supersized blimp and super-high-speed trains.

A working group tasked with setting standards on port performance has not convened once in 2017 after business leaders and unions battled over whether to include metrics such as truck turn times and chassis availability in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s first annual report to Congress.

A look at revenue generated by the world’s largest freight carriers shows a mixed picture. Check out our 2017 Transport Topics Top 50 Global Freight Carriers list.