Germany is the logistics hub of Europe, and the sector has just been reshaped by the largest deal in its history: DSV of Denmark completed its acquisition of DB Schenker from Deutsche Bahn on 30 April 2025 for an enterprise value of EUR 14.3 billion, and the DB Schenker brand is being retired into DSV. The country still hosts the world's largest logistics group in DHL, Europe's fifth-largest container line in Hapag-Lloyd, and a deep bench of family-owned forwarders that quietly move much of the continent's road freight. For scale: the German logistics sector was worth around EUR 335 billion in 2024 and employs roughly 3.35 million people, making it the third-largest sector in the country after trade and automotive. Hamburg handled 8.3 million TEU in 2025, up 7.3%, and Frankfurt moved around 2.1 million tonnes of air cargo, up 1.1%. This 2026 guide profiles ten providers with the strongest footprint in Germany, listed in no particular order, drawn from company reporting and trade coverage.
How we chose this list
This is an editorial guide, compiled from public sources such as annual reports, company accounts, regulatory filings and trade media, rather than from paid placements or our own directory data. We weighed four things:
- Scale in Germany: revenue, sites, fleet and employees based in the country.
- Breadth of services: freight forwarding, contract logistics, haulage, parcels and terminal operations.
- Track record: years operating in Germany and publicly verifiable results.
- Network: domestic coverage plus international connections.
Figures are the most recent publicly reported at the time of writing. The companies appear in no particular order. A provider further down the page may well be the better fit for your specific lane or freight type.
The 10 companies at a glance
| Company | Type | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| DHL Group | Global integrator | The world's largest logistics group, headquartered in Bonn |
| DSV | Global forwarder | Now the world's largest forwarder after absorbing DB Schenker |
| Dachser | Road network and contract logistics | Family-owned groupage network across Europe |
| Rhenus Group | Diversified logistics | Port logistics, inland waterways, contract logistics and forwarding |
| Hellmann Worldwide Logistics | Family-owned forwarder | Osnabrueck-based global forwarding network founded in 1871 |
| Hapag-Lloyd | Container shipping line | Germany's container carrier, headquartered in Hamburg |
| HHLA | Port and terminal operator | The dominant container terminal operator in the Port of Hamburg |
| Kuehne+Nagel | Global forwarder | One of the largest sea and air forwarders operating across Germany |
| DB Cargo | Rail freight | The largest rail freight operator in Germany and Europe |
| Lufthansa Cargo | Air cargo carrier | The main airfreight carrier out of Frankfurt |
DHL Group
DHL Group is the largest logistics company in the world and the anchor of the German sector. It reported revenue of EUR 82.9 billion for 2025, down 1.6% on the year on currency effects and lower volumes on routes to the United States, while operating profit rose 3.7% to EUR 6.1 billion, beating its own guidance of at least EUR 6 billion.
The group spans express, global forwarding, supply chain and the German postal and parcel network, so it is one of the few providers that can quote a domestic parcel and an intercontinental airfreight movement from the same account.
Best for: international express, and any shipper that wants parcel, forwarding and contract logistics under one roof.
DSV
DSV completed its acquisition of Schenker from Deutsche Bahn on 30 April 2025, at an enterprise value of EUR 14.3 billion, roughly doubling its size. Schenker was consolidated from 1 May 2025, and DSV reported group revenue of DKK 247,331 million for the 2025 financial year.
Two points matter for German shippers. The business now trades as DSV and dbschenker.com has been merged into dsv.com, so contracts and contacts are migrating. And the combined group is close to 160,000 people across more than 90 countries, with DSV estimating annual synergies of DKK 9 billion by the end of 2028. Deutsche Bahn kept its rail freight arm, DB Cargo, which was not part of the sale.
Best for: air and sea forwarding at scale, and shippers who want one provider across Europe after the Schenker merger.
Dachser
Dachser increased revenue to around EUR 8.3 billion in the 2025 financial year, up 3.1% and a record for the company. It remains family-owned, which is unusual at this scale and shows in a long-term approach to network investment rather than acquisition.
Its strength is European groupage: consolidated part-load and less-than-truckload freight moving on a scheduled network rather than as spot loads, which is what most German manufacturers actually ship.
Best for: European road groupage and part-loads on a scheduled network.
Rhenus Group
Rhenus is one of the largest privately held logistics groups in Germany, with reported turnover in the region of EUR 8.2 to 8.6 billion for 2024. It is part of the Rethmann group and covers a notably wide span: port terminals, inland barge transport on the Rhine, contract logistics, air and ocean forwarding and public transport.
That breadth makes it a useful single counterparty for project and industrial freight that needs more than one mode, particularly anything moving via the Rhine corridor.
Best for: multimodal and industrial freight, especially Rhine barge and port-adjacent logistics.
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Hellmann reported group revenue of EUR 3.7 billion for the 2025 financial year, against EUR 3.8 billion the year before, with total shipment volumes rising slightly to roughly 21 million. It launched a strategy programme it calls Forward2030 alongside those results.
It sits in a useful middle ground: large enough to run its own global network, small enough that mid-sized shippers are not the smallest account in the building.
Best for: mid-market shippers who want a global network without being a minor account at a major integrator.
Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd carried 13.5 million TEU in 2025, up 8.2% year on year, on group revenue of EUR 18.6 billion against EUR 19.1 billion the year before. EBITDA was EUR 3.2 billion and EBIT EUR 1.0 billion, down sharply from EUR 2.6 billion, as average freight rates fell to USD 1,376 per TEU from USD 1,492.
That combination of rising volume and falling rate is the clearest illustration of the 2025 ocean market: more boxes moved, less earned on each one. Hapag-Lloyd is also a member of the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk.
Best for: container shipping on mainline trades, and shippers who value schedule reliability over headline rate.
HHLA
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik operates the container terminals that make Hamburg work, and reported container throughput up 5.4% with container transport up 10.9% in 2025.
For shippers, HHLA matters less as a company you contract with directly and more as the operator whose productivity determines how quickly your box clears Hamburg.
Best for: understanding terminal performance in Hamburg, and intermodal connections inland.
Kuehne+Nagel
Kuehne+Nagel is Swiss-headquartered but operates one of the densest forwarding networks in Germany, with a long-established presence in sea freight, air freight, road and contract logistics.
It is a natural comparison point against DSV on any international quote, and the two are frequently the shortlist for large tenders out of Germany.
Best for: sea and air freight tenders, and shippers benchmarking DSV on international lanes.
DB Cargo
DB Cargo remains part of Deutsche Bahn, which sold its forwarding arm DB Schenker to DSV but kept its rail freight business. It is the largest rail freight operator in Germany and one of the largest in Europe.
Rail matters more in Germany than in most European markets, particularly for bulk, automotive and intermodal traffic moving between the North Sea ports and the industrial south.
Best for: bulk and intermodal rail movements, and port-to-hinterland traffic from Hamburg and Bremerhaven.
Lufthansa Cargo
Lufthansa Cargo is the freight arm of the Lufthansa Group and operates from Frankfurt, Germany's principal air cargo gateway, using both dedicated freighters and belly capacity on passenger aircraft.
Most shippers reach it through a forwarder rather than directly, but the distinction matters when time-critical or temperature-controlled cargo needs a confirmed allocation rather than a space request.
Best for: time-critical and temperature-controlled airfreight through Frankfurt.
How to choose between them
The right provider depends less on overall size than on fit with your freight and lane:
- International air and sea freight: DSV and Kuehne+Nagel for scale, Hellmann for mid-market attention.
- European road freight: Dachser for scheduled groupage, Rhenus for multimodal and industrial loads.
- Parcels and express: DHL, which is both the postal operator and the international integrator.
- Ocean carriage: Hapag-Lloyd for mainline trades, with HHLA determining how fast the box moves through Hamburg.
- Rail and bulk: DB Cargo for hinterland and intermodal traffic from the northern ports.
Whoever you shortlist, get more than one quote, because rates for the same lane can vary widely, and confirm licences, insurance coverage and references for your specific freight type. Our guide to the best websites to find a freight forwarder covers how to run that comparison, and the credentials you can check yourself covers verifying them.
Compare Germany logistics providers in one place
The ten companies above are the biggest names, but they are not always the best-priced option for a specific shipment, and independent forwarders often handle SME import and export work more attentively than the majors. CargoLinked's directory lists 216 logistics companies and freight forwarders based in Germany, which you can browse by service and location. If you have cargo to move, you can also post your shipment for free and collect quotes from interested forwarders instead of contacting providers one by one.
