BDP, which provides air and ocean freight forwarding and customs brokerage services, is being advised by boutique investment firm Republic Partners, the sources said.
The sources did not want to be named as the sale process was private.
The company could fetch around $500 million, one of the sources said.
Philadelphia-based BDP, started in 1966 by Richard Bolte and owned by the founding family, is only looking for private equity investors and not strategic buyers, another source said.
The company had revenue of $1.6 billion in 2011, according to industry journal Transport Topics.
BDP was not immediately available to comment.
Deal activity in the transportation and logistics space has been gaining momentum recently.
Last month, United Parcel Service Inc said it will buy Dutch peer TNT Express for 5.2 billion euros ($6.82 billion) to boost its position as the world's largest package delivery company outside the United States.
BDP has a big presence in the chemicals industry and counts DuPont Co and Dow Chemical Co as its customers. It also caters to the healthcare, oil and gas, and retail industries.
It has more than 3,000 employees and a presence in 118 countries, according to its website.
Its closest comparison in the public arena would be UTi Worldwide Inc, whose stock is trading at 24 times its reported fiscal 2012 earnings. (Reuters)
