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Supply Chain Deals

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A chart shows quarterly private equity logistics deal value and deal count from Q1 2024 to Q2 2026. Deal value ranges from $2.9 billion in Q1 2024 to $30.9 billion in Q3 2025. Deal count ranges from 37 in Q4 2024 to 58 in Q4 2025, with 55 in Q2 2026.

Private equity logistics deal value and count

Data: PitchBook; Chart: Colin Campbell/Axios

Private equity logistics deal value nosedived 57% in Q2 from the prior quarter, even as deal count climbed 12%, per a PitchBook report Friday.

Why it matters: The war in Iran has caused some deals to be put on hold while investors assess the disruption and opportunity, PitchBook analyst Jonathan Geurkink tells Axios Pro.

Follow the money: Total logistics PE deal value sank from nearly $15 billion in Q1 to $6.4 billion in Q2. 

The 55 deals in Q2 represented a nearly 19% increase in deals over the trailing 12-month period.

Exits increased by 22% in the quarter to 22, led by buyouts, per PitchBook.

Zoom in: Rail and air comprised about 29% and 27%, respectively, of PE logistics deal value in the quarter, the report says.

Trucking's share of deal value fell to 12.9% after leading the previous quarter at 40%.

Zoom out: The sector's drop in deal value is an outlier in the broader private equity market, where deal value has significantly outpaced deal count.

State of play: Rising trucking rates and the proposed $85 billion Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern megamerger are driving smaller rail dealmaking.

Semiconductors and other high-value electronic shipments have driven airfreight demand and deals, Geurkink says. 

"That was sort of a surprise to me," he says, particularly after the Trump administration closed the de minimis loophole that low-cost retailers had been taking advantage of. 

What we're watching: As with tariff uncertainty, even cautious dealmakers won't wait forever, and a pickup is likely in the back half of the year, the analyst expects.

The bottom line: "Stuff still has to get done," Geurkink says.

Logistics PE deal value plummets in Q2 as count rises

The war in Iran has caused some deals to be put on hold while investors assess the disruption and opportunity.

Private equity logistics deal value nosedived 57% in Q2 from the prior quarter, even as deal count climbed 12%, per a PitchBook report Friday.Why it matters: The war in Iran has caused some deals to be put on hold while investors assess the disruption and opportunity, PitchBook analyst Jonathan Geurkink tells Axios Pro.

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Logistics PE deal value plummets in Q2 as count rises

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