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Organization, Description of Business and Basis of Presentation - Narrative (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2020 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) segment bank	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 GBP (£)	Sep. 30, 2020 EUR (€)
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments \| segment				2
Purchase of noncontrolling interests				$ 21	$ 0
Number of banks \| bank				3
Long-term debt				$ 6,545		$ 5,182
Realization of cash on deferred purchase price receivable			$ 49	0	$ 186
Carrying Value
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Long-term debt				6,545		5,182
XPO Logistics Europe
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Purchase of noncontrolling interests	$ 20	€ 17,000,000
XPO Logistics Europe \| XPO Logistics, Inc.
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage by noncontrolling owners	4.00%	4.00%
Kuehne and Nagel Contract Logistics Operations \| XPO Logistics Europe
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Actual revenues recorded by acquired company						639	£ 500
Other long-term assets
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Restricted cash included in other long-term assets				10		10
Affiliated Entity \| XPO Collections Designated Activity Company Limited \| Trade Receivables Securitization Program Two
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Aggregate maximum borrowing capacity				469				€ 400,000,000
Line of credit facility, borrowing base				345				294,000,000
Remaining borrowing availability				$ 124				€ 106,000,000
Weighted average interest rate				0.64%				0.64%
Trade Receivables Securitization \| Carrying Value
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Long-term debt				$ 50		$ 0		€ 43,000,000