According to our database (as of October 2022) out of 5.3M companies registered in Germany more than 27,000 operate in the goods transportation industry. In this overview, we take a look at the 10 largest of these companies.
Please note that some companies have separate legal entities in individual countries while others consolidate results from several countries within one legal entity. In this report we specified whether sales data is consolidated or unconsolidated. Moreover, not all 2021 financial data was available at the time of writing - when this was the case we used 2020 financial data.
Deutsche Post DHL Group had the highest sales in 2020 and 2021
Deutsche Post DHL Group had the highest sales in 2021. The company reported consolidated sales of more than EUR 81B, which represents a 22.5% year-on-year growth. Deutsche Post DHL Group’s predecessor was Deutsche Bundespost, which was privatised in 1992 to form the company it is today. Later, the company bought, among others, DHL International.
Schenker AG was second with consolidated sales of EUR 47B in 2021 (18% increase year-on-year).
DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG was third with EUR 7.1B in consolidated sales (24.07% increase compared to 2020).
Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG was fourth with unconsolidated annual sales of over EUR 3.5B between 2018 and 2020. It is a global transport company that was founded in Bremen (Germany) in 1890.
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG was fifth with unconsolidated annual sales of over EUR 2.4B between 2018 and 2020. The company was founded in Osnabrück (Germany) in 1871.
DPD Deutschland GmbH was sixth. Between 2018 and 2020, DPD’s unconsolidated annual sales were around EUR 2B. DPD’s parent company, DPDgroup, operates throughout Europe and belongs to the French La Poste.
Hermes Germany GmbH was seventh. In 2020, Hermes Germany generated EUR 1.18B in sales. In 2021 the company reported less than half of that amount (EUR 452M). Hermes Germany GmbH is a relatively young transport company founded in 2009.
Hoyer GmbH Internationale Fachspedition was eighth. According to our records, Hoyer’s annual sales were around EUR 1.1B between 2018 and 2020. The company transports liquids for the chemical and food industries. Hoyer was founded in Germany in 1946.
Innight Express Germany GmbH was ninth. Between 2018 and 2020 the company generated more than EUR 200M in sales per year. Innight Express Germany GmbH focuses on overnight B2B delivery of goods.
World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH was tenth with sales of more than EUR 70M in 2020. Its parent company, World Courier, was established at the end of 1960s in New York (USA).
Germany: TOP 10 transport companies by sales
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Deutsche Post DHL Group | € 61.55B | € 63.34B | € 66.72B | € 81.75B |
| 2. | Schenker AG | € 44.06B | € 44.43B | € 39.90B | € 47.08B |
| 3. | DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG | € 5.653B | € 5.729B | € 5.722B | € 7.100B |
| 4. | Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG | € 3.599B | € 3.734B | € 3.943B | - |
| 5. | Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG | € 2.624B | € 2.469B | € 2.620B | - |
| 6. | DPD Deutschland GmbH | € 1.879B | € 1.981B | € 2.244B | - |
| 7. | Hermes Germany GmbH | - | - | € 1.184B | € 452.4M |
| 8. | Hoyer GmbH Internationale Fachspedition | € 1.167B | € 1.177B | € 1.119B | - |
| 9. | Innight Express Germany GmbH | € 253.9M | € 238.3M | € 224.8M | - |
| 10. | World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH | € 57.92M | € 61.37M | € 72.47M | - |
Deutsche Post DHL Group had the highest profit both before and after tax in 2020 and 2021
Unlike some of the other companies on the top 10 list, Deutsche Post DHL Group managed to increase its profit before tax from EUR 2.5B in 2018 to EUR 7.3B in 2021. According to the company’s 2021 annual report, this success was primarily caused by increased demand during the pandemic.
Schenker AG, DPD Deutschland GmbH, Hermes Germany GmbH, and Innight Express Germany GmbH all reported a loss in 2020 and 2021. The remaining companies - DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG (EUR 344M), Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG (EUR 280M), Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG (EUR 74M), Hoyer GmbH Internationale Fachspedition (EUR 34.3M), World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH (EUR 3.2M) - all reported a profit in 2020.
Deutsche Post DHL Group also leads with profit after tax (EUR 5.4B in 2021). Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG (EUR 238M), DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG (EUR 228M), Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG (EUR 56M), and World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH (EUR 2.2M) also reported a profit after tax in 2020.
Schenker AG (EUR -911M), Hermes Germany GmbH (EUR -13.9M), and Innight Express Germany GmbH (EUR -55 thousand) all reported a loss in 2020 and 2021.
Earnings before tax (EBT) of the TOP 10 German transport companies
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Post DHL Group | € 2.586B | € 3.474B | € 4.171B | € 7.359B |
| Schenker AG | € 1.172B | € 681.0M | € -5.484B | € -788.0M |
| DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG | € 268.4M | € 271.7M | € 344.1M | - |
| Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG | € 79.51M | € 136.8M | € 280.5M | - |
| Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG | € 71.04M | € 19.57M | € 74.02M | - |
| DPD Deutschland GmbH | € -40.84M | € -23.98M | € -19.70M | - |
| Hermes Germany GmbH | - | - | € -90.93M | € -13.82M |
| Hoyer GmbH Internationale Fachspedition | € 40.22M | € 38.05M | € 34.38M | - |
| Innight Express Germany GmbH | € 3.496M | € -5.631M | € -18,117 | - |
| World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH | € 1.553M | € 2.171M | € 3.241M | - |
Earnings after tax (EAT) of the TOP 10 German transport companies
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Post DHL Group | € 2.224B | € 2.776B | € 3.176B | € 5.423B |
| Schenker AG | € 542.0M | € 680.0M | € -5.707B | € -911.0M |
| DACHSER Group SE & Co. KG | € 171.0M | € 173.4M | € 228.9M | - |
| Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG | € 62.51M | € 110.9M | € 238.4M | - |
| Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE & Co. KG | € 45.52M | € 5.442M | € 56.13M | - |
| DPD Deutschland GmbH | € -41.41M | € -23.50M | € -19.70M | - |
| Hermes Germany GmbH | - | - | € -91.31M | € -13.92M |
| Hoyer GmbH Internationale Fachspedition | - | - | - | - |
| Innight Express Germany GmbH | € 3.101M | € -5.657M | € -55,372 | - |
| World Courier (Deutschland) GmbH | € 1.060M | € 1.394M | € 2.201M | - |
