Ocean freight market growing steadily

When transporting goods by sea, transit times are longer than for air transport but the costs are lower. We are the global leader in both less-than-container-load (LCL) and full-container-load (FCL) shipments. According to our estimates, this market grew by 3% to 4% in 2008. We slightly expanded our share of the market.

New products combine modes of transport

In times of economic uncertainty, customers become more cost-conscious. At the same time, they want integrated, safe and fast transport solutions. One such solution is our SeAir product, which combines these two modes of transport. This service is considerably faster than ocean shipping but at significantly lower prices than air freight. The product has been well received by the market and in the year under review, we increased volume by 27%.

Our business activities in the major economic regions were highly successful. In Europe, for example, our Airfreight Plus product combines the speed of express shipping with the customised service of a freight forwarder and guarantees day-definite, door-to-door delivery of heavy goods in 32 European countries. Customers benefit from late collection times and next-day delivery. In addition, specially trained personnel ensure that temperature-sensitive shipments are processed quickly with minimum holding times.

Number two in European overland transport

Freight is the second-largest overland freight forwarder in Europe with around 11,000 employees in 53 countries. Our business model is similar to that of Global Forwarding: We see ourselves as a broker of freight capacity. In the overland transport business we provide full-truckload, part-truckload and less-than-truckload services. We also offer combined services with other carriers, especially rail transport companies. Moreover, our range of services includes the handling of customs formalities and the provision of insurance.

DHL is one of the leading providers of trade fair, exhibition and event logistics. Along with trade fair transport, our range of services includes customised full-service solutions for exhibitors, international trade fair organisers, event management and staging companies as well as event agencies.

In 2007, the European market for road transport grew by 4.2% (previous year: around 3.5%). We maintained our share of 2.0%.

Strategy and goals

We are well positioned in our markets due to our air freight, ocean freight and road transport services. Our goal is to continue to grow steadily and organically at a rate above the industry average. To this end, we pursue three approaches:

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