High freight prices, caused by the shortage of cargo space across all modes of transport, made the jump in turnover complete. "2021 was an exceptional year in many respects; there were extreme challenges to overcome," says Dachser's CEO Burkhard Eling (pictured). "Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chains at their limits shaped the year and caused great uncertainty among our customers. Even in this situation, we managed to offer reliable transport and logistics solutions and maintain a high level of quality and service. As a result, we were able to strengthen customer loyalty and expand our business with key accounts in particular. This was an extraordinary achievement that demanded everything from our teams in view of the difficult conditions."

Business development in detail

The Road Logistics business field, in which Dachser combines the transportation and warehousing of industrial and consumer goods (European Logistics) and food (Food Logistics), grew by 12.3 percent to EUR 4.99 billion in 2021. After the lockdowns in Southern Europe had caused a 2.2 percent decline in revenue in 2020, the result is also a significant increase compared to the pre-corona year 2019.

The European Logistics business line increased its turnover by a strong 13.1% and recorded a turnover of 3.92 billion euros. After several years of stagnation, the number of shipments increased significantly by 6.8% to 72.0 million and tonnage even rose by 8.5% to 30.0 million. All regional business units - Germany, North Central Europe, France & Maghreb and Iberia - recorded double-digit revenue growth. Customer wins ensured that the Food Logistics business line achieved sales growth of 9.8% in Germany despite the coronavirus-related restrictions in the restaurant and hotel industry. With turnover of 1.07 billion euros, the billion euro mark was exceeded for the first time.

Supply chain disruptions, tight freight capacities and correspondingly high rates characterized the air and sea freight business in 2021. As a result of this development, the Air & Sea Logistics business division achieved record revenue growth of 78.3%. Shipments increased by 9.1% and tonnage by as much as 20.9%. The further expansion of air freight charters into a network of regular services between Asia, Europe and North America proved to be particularly successful. Dachser operated a total of 230 charter flights in 2021. "Reliable availability of cargo space gives customers planning security - and that was the key to success in 2021. It has also proven to be very advantageous that we can feed the goods from overseas directly into our own European overland transportation network for distribution and delivery," explains Eling.

Acting strategically and with a view to the future

The market is expected to remain volatile and challenging in 2022. "We have to be prepared for another year in which crisis management, flexibility and resilience in terms of supply chains are in demand," says Eling. Nevertheless, Dachser is continuing to invest in logistics facilities, digital technologies and equipment. After around EUR 100 million in 2021, around EUR 200 million is planned for 2022. "This includes flagship projects such as our fully automated high-bay warehouse in Memmingen for 52,000 pallets, which will go into operation in October," explains Eling. "We are also investing substantially in digitalization, climate protection measures and, in particular, our employees, because logistics is and will remain a business that is done by people for people." In 2021, Dachser hired around 1,000 additional people worldwide, and around 2,200 young people are currently undergoing training at Dachser worldwide.

Sales at a glance:

* Rounding difference