Air & Sea Logistics business slumps at Dachser despite overall growth

German logistics firm Dachser saw a 3.7 percent increase in road logistics in 2016, with revenue up 3.7 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to EUR4.3 billion in the division, but the big loser in 2016 was Dachser’ s Air & Sea Logistics sector, where revenues declined 3 percent to EUR1.5 billion.

Dachser blamed decreased revenues on low international freight rates, especially in sea freight, and negative currency effects. “We know how to deal with the volatile nature of international air and sea freight, and are consistently expanding this business field,” explained Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon.

For the whole company, the number of shipments rose 2.4 percent to 80.0 million in 2016, with tonnage up 2.4 percent to 38.2 million metric tons. Overall, consolidated revenue increased by 1.7 percent y-o-y to 5.7 billion, driven by European overland transport as well as food logistics.

“Despite the volatility of the global economy, we were able to maintain our stable market position through organic growth at the previous years’ levels, while simultaneously developing solutions for tomorrow’s market,” Simon said.

The Road Logistics division accounted for 75 percent of Dachser’s total revenue. The company’s export strategy drove a 2.4 percent increase in gross revenue to €3.5 billion. Shipments and tonnage increased by 2.2 and 2.3 percent, respectively.

“Our country organizations have benefited all around, from the strong demand for cross-border transports in the European single market. As far as the exchange of goods is concerned, Europe is and will remain stable and closely interconnected,” Simon noted.

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