Dachser grows through acquisitions

• Group revenue increased by 13 percent in 2024. 
• Record investments totaling around EUR 490 million. AlmostEUR 400 millionin additional investments planned for 2025.
• Contract logistics grew by almost 720,000 additional pallet spaces.

HONG KONG,April 7, 2025/PRNewswire/ --Global logistics provider Dachser grew significantly in 2024, with sales growth of 13 percent lifting revenue above the 8 billion mark toEUR 8.027 billion. The family-owned company also recorded significant year-over-yearincreases in other key figures such as headcount (+3,300), locations (+56), and pallet spaces in its warehouses (+720,000).

This growth is largely due to the acquisitions of DACHSER& FERCAM Italia, Frigoscandia, and Brummer, which will appear on the balance sheet for the first time in 2024. In purely organic terms, i.e., excluding acquisitions, Dachser grew by 4.7 percent compared to the previous year. This was driven by resilience in its European groupage network and rate increases in air and sea freight. Transported volumes rose by 7.6 percent to approximately 83.2 million shipments, while tonnage increased by 10.2 percent to some 44.1 million.

Business development would have been more dynamic, but there was a lack of growth impetus fromGermanyandEurope:"High costs, weak industrial production, and a decline in personal consumption have also had an impact on our business. Moreover, the many crises we face around the world today have been a constant stress test for our customers, and hence also for us,"saysBurkhard Eling, Dachser CEO.

Investing during the crisis strengthens competitiveness

Dachser used its financial stability and strength to make significant investments. In 2024, the logistics provider doubled its year-over-year expenditure on company acquisitions, network locations, its workforce, digital innovation, and climate action, such as the expansion of e-mobility, to someEUR 490 million. Additional investments of almostEUR 400 millionin Dachser's network are planned for 2025."Those who act during a downturn to invest wisely and consistently will enter the next upturn with the wind in their sails,"Eling says."In the past, we've emerged stronger and more competitive from crises by following this countercyclical business policy. That will happen again this time around."

Dachser's workforce grew in 2024 by more than 3,300 people to a total of approximately 37,300. The number of locations increased by 56 to 433 worldwide. This also reflects the previous year's acquisitions inItaly,Northern Europe,Germany, andAustria. The joint venture inJapan, which was launched in 2024, has also been included for the first time.

Business development in detail

Dachser'sRoad Logisticsbusiness field—which comprises the transport and warehousing of industrial and consumer goods (European Logistics) and food (Food Logistics)—increased its revenue by 10.9 percent toEUR 6.4 billionin 2024.

TheEuropean Logisticsbusiness line increased its revenue by 8.1 percent to aroundEUR 4.8 billion. The number of shipments handled rose by 6.5 percent and tonnage by 2.8 percent. Developments at Dachser's European business units were driven by high cost pressure in key industries, growing price sensitivity among customers, and intensified competition due to weak demand for transport and warehousing."The fact that we were able to grow not only through acquisitions, but also organically in a stagnating market, illustrates the trust our customers place in the high reliability and quality of our network,"Eling says.

TheFood Logisticsbusiness line has taken on a new European dimension thanks to the integration of Müller in 2023 and of Frigoscandia and Brummer in 2024. Revenue increased by exactly 20 percent to someEUR 1.7 billion, shipments grew by 14.3 percent to approximately 12.4 million, and tonnage rose by 31.5 percent to some 13.9 million metric tons. Eling says:"We've acquired companies that have successfully opened up business areas beyond fresh food logistics, that address additional customer segments and markets inEurope, and not least that have significant truck fleets of their own. All of this is part of our new strategic market positioning for Dachser Food Logistics."

Revenue in theAir& Sea Logisticsbusiness field rose by exactly 22 percent to aroundEUR 1.6 billionin 2024. Here, Dachser benefited mainly from short-term special developments that caused freight rates in air and sea freight to rise. These include the crisis with capacity bottlenecks on the Red Sea and the e-commerce business betweenChinaandEurope.

Contract logistics, or the combination of transport, warehousing, and customer-specific value-added services, also played an important role in Dachser's growth strategy in 2024. Expansion investments together with the capacity of the acquired companies increased the number of pallet spaces by around 720,000 to a total of 3.8 million. Dachser customers can now take advantage of warehouse services at 190 locations worldwide.

Eling expects 2025 to be another highly challenging year for logistics, with only limited growth stimulus fromEurope."We can see that economic performance inEuropeis largely stagnating and is accompanied by capacity adjustments, some of them painful. This also means that we have to deal with transformation processes in key industries such as the automotive industry and energy-intensive sectors such as the chemical industry."Moreover, there are increases in global uncertainties and the danger of economic slumps due to protectionism, the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs, as well as geopolitical conflicts.

Against this backdrop, it's important for Dachser to achieve growth outsideEurope."We will increasingly focus our attention on strengthening our presence in the Americas andAsiaand connecting these markets with our unique competitive advantage: our European groupage network. Because the broader our global footprint, the greater our resilience,"Eling says.

Overview of revenue:

Further press releases from Dachser can be found here: https://www.dachser.com/en/mediaroom/index

In theDACHSER magazine, you will regularly find up-to-date reports, articles, and interviews on topics that concern us today and tomorrow: magazine.dachser.com

About Dachser

Dachser, a family-owned company headquartered in Kempten,Germany, provides transport logistics, warehousing, and customized services in two business fields: Dachser Air& Sea Logistics and Dachser Road Logistics. The latter consists of two business lines: Dachser European Logistics and Dachser Food Logistics. Comprehensive contract logistics services and industry-specific solutions round out the company's range. A seamless shipping network—both inEuropeand overseas—and fully integrated IT systems ensure intelligent logistics solutions worldwide.

Thanks to some 37,300 employees at 433 locations all over the globe, Dachser generated consolidated net revenue of approximatelyEUR 8 billionin 2024. The same year, the logistics provider handled a total of 83.2 million shipments with a tonnage of 44.1 million metric tons. Country organizations represent Dachser in 43 countries. For more information about Dachser, please visit dachser.com

In the DACHSER magazine, you will regularly find up-to-date reports, articles, and interviews on topics that concern us today and tomorrow: magazine.dachser.com

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SOURCE Dachser