Investment Reaping Rewards For Dachser Across Europe
5th April 2017
Dachser has reported continued growth in fiscal year 2016, generating consolidated gross revenue of around 5.71 billion euros—which it says represents a consolidated revenue increase of 1.7 percent on the previous year. The number of shipments rose by 2.4 percent to 80.0 million, and tonnage by 2.4 percent to 38.2 million metric tons. This growth was 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,” says Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon.
In the Road Logistics business field, which accounts for 75 percent of Dachser’s total revenue, the European Logistics (EL) business line profited from the company’s consistent export strategy, which resulted in a 2.4-percent increase in gross revenue to 3.5 billion euros. 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,” comments Simon.
Dachser Food Logistics once again achieved the highest growth rate, with revenue increasing by 9.5 percent to 812 million euros. It has been buoyed primarily by strong domestic business in Germany’s consumer goods sector. The second component in its success is the European Food Network for cross-border food transport. With 13 partners, 10 associate members, and regular line haul services among 34 countries, the Food Network has the greatest geographic coverage in Europe. “Our market-leading level of quality and the positive effects of the European Food Hub in Erlensee near Frankfurt contributed to this satisfying growth,” Simon explains.
In the Dachser Air & Sea Logistics business field, revenue decreased by 3 percent to 1.54 billion euros, while the number of shipments remained constant. This decrease in revenue was due to 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,” says Simon.
Simon said that Dachser will be investing heavily in IT, R&D and expanding its network of locations in 2017 and is also investing to expand its contract logistics services.
In a separate release, Dachser highlighted the performance of its UK division, which saw net sales rise by 12% to £66.1m. The company’s single most important business sector, European road export services, has been at the forefront of that growth, increasing by 15% and accounting for just under 45 % of Dachser’s UK revenues.
‘We recognise that exporters need to rest assured that their customers’ orders are delivered on time and in-full without exception,’ explains Nick Lowe, Dachser’s UK Managing Director. ‘This is true regardless of where the goods are heading, whether in the UK, Europe or further afield. It’s our mission to ensure that companies can rely on us to fulfil these expectations on an on-going basis, building up their own confidence and creating a solid platform from which to develop further growth in their export sales.’
With Brexit now clearly on the horizon, there are more and more yet unanswered questions regarding the shape of UK / European supply chains in the future. However Nick Lowe is upbeat about the prospects for UK exporters and the degree to which they will be able to compete with their peers located in the EU itself.
‘It’s true that there many open questions about such matters as Customs clearance and the application of product standards,’ he says, ‘but for us it’s a question of keeping close to our customers and listening to their evolving needs as things become clearer, re-engineering our services to whatever extent is necessary. Our AEO accreditation is a good and reliable basis for further development of our Customs clearance services for EU consignments, something which could well become very important to consider as the EU / UK negotiations progress. We also offer a full Contract Logistics service, both in the UK and within Europe, should customers decide to build up local and / or European warehoused stock holdings to serve their different markets in the future.‘