Brand Finance’s Logistics 50 2026 reveals that Japan’s logistics brands record a total brand value of $20 billion
TOKYO, 10 September 2026 – The logistics industry has been impacted by several headwinds since February 2025, including geopolitical tensions and new tariff rates imposed by the US. According to the Logistics 50 2026 report by Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy, Japan’s five featured logistics brands demonstrate resilience amid these headwinds, recording a collective brand value of USD20 billion.
JR (brand value at USD13.1 billion) leads the country’s logistics industry as it maintains its position as the third most valuable logistics brand globally. The brand’s sustained performance was driven by several factors, such as the first fare increase in 37 years by JR East, the railway’s eastern line, in March 2026. This fare revision increased the brand’s revenue forecast by JPY82 billion (approximately USD535 million).
The Japanese railway brand’s performance was also supported by the nation’s tourism boom. JR West achieved a revenue and income increase for the fifth consecutive year thanks to the World Expo 2025 in Osaka and Kansai. Meanwhile, JR Central reported an optimistic year-on-year transportation revenue increase across its Shinkansen and conventional line services.
JR remains the country’s strongest logistics brand despite a drop in its Brand Strength Index score from 89.8/100 in 2025 to 84/100 this year. In February 2026, JR East experienced train service disruptions due to power outage problems during infrastructure improvement work. The outage resulted in the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines stopping their operations for up to eight hours and 747 services being cancelled. Approximately 670,000 passengers were affected as the disruption impacted the morning rush.
Japan Post remains Japan’s second most valuable logistics brand. Globally, the brand ranks as the 20th most valuable logistics brand after a slight two-spot dip from 2025, recording a brand value of USD3.1 billion. The brand faced net operating losses despite revenue growth in the 2025 financial year, which ended in March 2025. For the 2026 financial year ending in March 2026, Japan Post reported an overall increase to its net income, mainly due to higher profit in the postal and domestic logistics business despite an initial decreasing profit forecast in the post office business. The brand’s postal and domestic logistics business segment recorded a 67% year-over-year increase to its net operating income, amounting to JPY29 billion (approximately USD182 million) this year.
NYK becomes Japan’s third most valuable logistics brand, ranking 46th globally with a consistent brand value of USD1.4 billion. The brand’s sustained performance reflects resilience amid global headwinds, as it recorded a JPY126.7 billion (approximately USD793 million) rise in revenue, thanks to the increase in handling volumes in air freight and ocean freight forwarding and the acquisition of the healthcare logistics business in Europe conducted in the 2025 financial year. Additionally, NYK’s growth in recurring profits supported the brand’s performance this year, with its dry bulk segment driving increased year-on-year profit levels due to improved market conditions for each vessel type, Japanese Yen depreciation, and the effects associated with the sharp increase in fuel prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Alex Haigh, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Brand Finance, commented:
“Japan's five ranked logistics brands are worth USD20 billion, but they are earning it in two very different ways. JR is monetising a domestic tourism boom and a long-overdue fare correction, while NYK is absorbing freight-rate and fuel volatility from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Japan Post sits between the two, returning to net income growth on the strength of its domestic parcel and postal segment even as its legacy post office business drags. Insulation from global shocks is now the defining variable in this sector and explains why the domestic rail brands are setting the pace in Japan.”
Other notable brands featured in the Brand Finance Logistics 50 2026 report include:
Global Insights
The global logistics sector records a brand value of USD216.8 billion amid a recovering industry, with the US maintaining the largest brand value share at 42% (USD90.8 billion).
UPS remains the most valuable logistics brand for the 12th consecutive year, despite an 8% brand value drop to USD30 billion. FedEx (brand value up 10% to USD25.1 billion) and JR (brand value at USD13.1 billion) follow in second and third place, respectively.
CEVA (brand value up 129% to USD2.1 billion) emerges as the fastest-growing brand, driven by its acquisition of Borusan Lojistik, providing the brand with a stronger presence in Turkey, consolidating its operational expertise, and establishing a foothold in a region that strategically connects Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.SBB, a new entrant, ranks as the strongest logistics brand this year, receiving a BSI score of 95.2/100 and an AAA+ brand strength rating. The Swiss rail brand’s strength underpins its “Expansion Step 2025”, a programme that spans 60 projects focusing on improving customer satisfaction and comfort.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
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