DHL customers taking wait-and-see approach with tariffs

DHL Group today reported 20.8 billion euros ($23.6 billion) in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, up 2.8% year over year. “The macro environment overall has been in line with our expectations,” Chief Executive Tobias Meyer said on today’s earnings call. “It was quite subdued, obviously, [with] induced volatility due to changing U.S. trade policies, which makes the day-to-day quite interesting. On a financial view for the quarter, it was actually quite a small impact.” [caption id="attachment_57149203" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] DHL will further grow its 777F fleet in 2025. (Courtesy/DHL)[/caption] With the ever-changing trade and regulatory landscape — especially in relation to tariffs imposed by the United States, possible retaliatory actions and shifting policies surrounding imports — most of DHL’s customers are taking a wait-and-see attitude, Meyer said. De minimis concerns Last week, DHL Group temporarily halted shipments of packages headed to the U.S. and valued over $800 to give the company time to address a surge in formal customs clearances. This surge was a result of U.S. Customs and Border Protection lowering the value for packages requiring formal entry processing to $800 from $2,500, effective April 5. Some shippers have also been front-loading shipping to beat the clock on the May 2 elimination of de minimis exceptions for packages from China. “Some of our customers don't act before a deadline because they're not sure whether the policy stays in effect,” Meyer said. “But we've seen some front-loading and shifting of inventories and also, thereby, higher demand for airfreight for warehousing, especially in Asia.” DHL Group’s EBIT for Q1 was $1.6 billion, up 4.5% YoY, and diluted earnings per share were 76 cents, up 8.1% YoY. Revenue per division in Q1 was: $6.9 billion for Express, up 2% YoY; $5.4 billion for Global Forwarding, Freight, up 3.2% YoY; $5 billion for Supply Chain, up 1.1% YoY; $2 billion for eCommerce, up 7.5% YoY; and $5 billion for Post & Parcel Germany, up 3.8% YoY. The air and sea freight business remained relatively stable in Q1, DHL said. Fleet expansion DHL has been steadily expanding its fleet. DHL Express expects delivery of three new 777Fs, completing its orders, placed between 2018 and 2022, for twenty-eight 777Fs from Boeing. The integrator has received three new 777Fs (68144, 68145 and 68146) this year and placed them in CMI service with AeroLogic, a joint venture between DHL Express and Lufthansa Group. Additionally, DHL placed three A330-300P2Fs into service in 2024, assigning them to Air Hong Kong to operate on a CMI basis. Shares of DHL Group ( OTCMKTS: DHLGY ) were up 1.47% from market open to $42.82 as of market close today. The company has a market capitalization of $51.3 billion. Air France-KLM cargo revenue up 18.1% Air France-KLM Group today reported $590.2 million in Q1 cargo revenue, up 18.1% YoY. The group reported $8.1 billion in total Q1 revenue, up 7.7% YoY. The group also reported for Q1: EBITDA of $448.7 million, up 125% YoY; Diluted loss per share of $1.31, compared to a loss of $2.31 in Q1 2024; 203,209 tonnes of cargo carried, up 4.1% YoY; 3.5 billion available cargo tonne kilometers (CTK), up 0.3% YoY; 1.7 billion revenue CTKs, up 4.5% YoY; and A load factor of 49%, up 2 percentage points YoY. The carrier group has six A350Fs on order after it canceled orders for two in March following news of Airbus’ delivery delays. Three of the A350Fs are scheduled to join KLM subsidiary Martinair, which will be the first in the group to operate the type, and the other three are scheduled to join Air France, AFKLMP told Cargo Facts in March. The carrier expects its A350F deliveries to begin in 2027. The A350Fs will replace Air France’s two production 777Fs and KLM’s four 747-400Fs , which have leases that can be extended “to ensure the continuity of full-freighter operations,” the group said. The carrier group operates: Two 2009-vintage 777Fs (32965 and 32966); Three 2003- and 2004-vintage production 747-400Fs (33694, 33695 and 33696); and One 1990-vintage 747-400BCF (24066). Air France-KLM expects second-quarter operations to be affected by tariffs imposed by the U.S., which Chief Financial Officer Steven Zaat called a “ridiculous increase” on the earnings call. Shares of Air France-KLM Group ( OTCMKTS: AFLYY ) were unchanged from market open to close today, at 85 cents. The group has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion. Airbus revenue up 5.5% Airbus today reported $15.3 billion in Q1 revenue, up 5.5% YoY. “Tariffs ... are adding complexity and remain uncertain in terms of implementation, scope and duration,” CEO Guillaume Faury said in the earnings report. “We are closely monitoring and assessing the situation, but it is too early to quantify the impact today.” The company’s Q1 net income was $898.3 million, up 33.3% YoY. The company also reported in Q1: Adjusted EBIT of $706.8 million, up 8.1% YoY; and Earnings per share of $1.14, up 32.9% YoY. Sustainability efforts Airbus made several moves during Q1 to support decarbonization in aviation. At a company sustainability event in March, Faury said that, while he does not believe the aviation industry will reach net zero by 2050, he is committed to working toward that goal. Airbus and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) solution developer SAF One signed a memorandum of understanding in February to collaborate on promoting SAF adoption across the industry. The companies will spearhead SAF advocacy initiatives aimed at airlines and other industry partners, Airbus told Cargo Facts in February. The planemaker also launched its Book and Claim program in March, allowing a buyer to book a certain amount of SAF and claim the corresponding emission reduction, even if the fuel is used elsewhere. Additionally, last month Airbus and a consortium of partners from four European countries launched PACIFIC, a project to study the impact of aviation's non-CO2 emissions on local air quality and climate with a focus on contrails. Shares of Airbus ( OTCMKTS: EADSY ) were up 4.62% from market open to $43.07 as of market close today. Airbus has a market capitalization of $133.8 billion. Editor’s note: All amounts have been converted to U.S. dollars. Register now for Cargo Facts EMEA, an essential regional event for industry stakeholders, on May 6-8 at the Shangri-La Bosphorus in Turkey.

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