List of the 400 Largest Logistics Companies Germany [2023 Update]

Product Overview

Contains the 400 largest logistics companies from Germany from numerous sectors such as transport logistics, warehouse logistics, project logistics, industrial logistics, pharmaceutical logistics, port logistics, hazardous goods logistics, etc. The list is an excerpt from our list of the 5,000 largest companies in Germany.

Excellent level of detail: industry and field of activity, turnover (2015 - 2021) if publicly available, number of employees (2018 - 2021) if publicly available, general contact details, names of management, etc.

Suitable for bulk mailings: list contains columns for German formal salutation, title, first and last name of the management.

High-quality lists thanks to manual data maintenance by an experienced research team in Munich. Boutique research instead of unchecked crawler data.

List of the 5 largest logistics companies in Germany

Logistics companies are active in the fields of freight forwarding, transport, warehousing, handling and packaging. They form one of the most important branches of the German economy. In 2019, the logistics sector achieved a turnover of around 279 billion euros. These are the 5 largest German logistics companies:

1. Deutsche Post AG, Bonn

Deutsche Post was created from 1995 onwards in the course of the privatisation of the former Deutsche Bundespost. With almost 547,000 employees, it is one of the largest employers in the country. The logistics business is conducted almost exclusively under the DHL brand. This is represented on the one hand by the DHL Global Forwarding/Freight Group Division, which employs around 41,000 people worldwide. It offers global transportation of goods by rail, road, air and sea. On the other hand, the DHL Supply Chain division deals with contract logistics. It has about 146,000 employees worldwide.

Update 2022: With its new “GoGreen Plus” service, the company ensures complete avoidance of CO2 emissions in mail delivery and thus becomes even more climate-friendly. In concrete terms, this is made possible by investments in e-mobility, a biogas truck fleet or heat pumps in the sorting centers.

2. Schenker Aktiengesellschaft, Essen

Schenker was already founded in 1875 as a freight forwarding company in Vienna. In 1931 the company was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Today Schenker is a 100% subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn. The company stands for non-rail freight transport by rail. The company’s activities cover the 3 business areas of European land transport, sea and air freight and contract logistics. Transports are carried out on a global scale. Schenker employs more than 76,000 people worldwide, of which slightly more than 17,000 work in Germany.

Update 2023: Deutsche Bahn’s logistics subsidiary is to be prepared for a sale and spin-off from the parent company. Deutsche Bahn is currently examining the options for a sale and working to make the company even more attractive to potential investors.

3. Dachser Group SE & Co. KG, Kempten

The Dachser story began in 1930 with the transport of Allgäu cheese to the Rhineland. The company founded by Thomas Dachser is still family-owned. Dachser offers transport and forwarding services in three business segments: European logistics, air & sea freight and food logistics. Contract logistics is a further area of activity. In addition, Dachser Chem-Logistics (chemicals transport) and Dachser DIY-Logistics (transport for specialist markets) offer special industry solutions. Dachser has almost 400 locations and 31,000 employees worldwide.

4. HAVI Logistics GmbH, Duisburg

HAVI Logistics GmbH in Duisburg is a subsidiary of the American group HAVI Logistics. The company grew up as a food supplier for McDonalds. Food transports also form the business model of the German HAVI Logistics subsidiary. The German company was already founded in 1981 - albeit under a different name. McDonalds is still an important HAVI Logistics customer today. In addition, the company also supplies other restaurant chains and convenience food suppliers - including Kentucky Fried Chicken, IKEA, Nordsee, Pizza Hut and Subway.

5: Kuehne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG, Bremen

Kuehne + Nagel started out in 1890 as Bremen’s “forwarding and commission business”. In 1969, the head office was moved to Switzerland, and in 1976 the company’s head office was also relocated. Kuehne + Nagel International AG is based in Feusisberg in the canton of Schwyz. The German subsidiary Kuehne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG is still located in its original location in Bremen. Kuehne + Nagel Germany employs approximately 15,000 people at over 130 locations. The company provides global forwarding services in the fields of sea and air freight, contract logistics and overland transportation.

This information is included in the list

• Company name
• General contact data (address, e-mail address, telephone number, URL)
• Serial letter suitable for addressing the management (e.g. “Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. Müller”)
• Name of the management
• Sales figures for the years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 as well as employee figures for the years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 (taken from the annual and consolidated financial statements)
• Field of activity

Note: If the sales and employee figures are not included in a company’s own financial statements but in the parent company’s consolidated financial statements, the data from the respective consolidated financial statements are provided.