DHL Global Forwarding, part of the DHL Group, has begun construction for a new airfreight center for logistics at Frankfurt Airport.
This airport is important for the company’s global airfreight network. This new center also signifies a positive step in making Frankfurt Airport a hub for cargo.
Tobias Schmidt, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Europe says: “We’re very pleased that we were able to develop a larger, more sustainable site in close cooperation with Fraport. The newly created space will enable us to handle greater transport volumes for our customers even more quickly and efficiently.”
Fraport is a leading global airport business. It provides a range of operational and management services for airside and terminal operations.
Modern logistics facility
The center located at the airport’s CargoCity South, will measure 24,500 square meters of hall space. It also includes dedicated freight yards and 25 truck parking spaces.
Anke Giesen, executive director retail and real estate at Fraport AG says: “This building will meet the strictest ecological and economic requirements for modern freight handling facilities.”
Also read: Global economy has ‘failed to recover’ so far, says DHL
DHL Group growth through acquistion
This month, DHL Global Forwarding completed its acquisition of shares in Danzas AEI Emirates. The acquisition will enhance operational capabilities – with 1,100 experts in the mix and ownership of over 20 facilities. These state-of-the-art facilities are situated across Dubai and northern Emirates.
The DHL Group moved in with another acquisition late in 2023. This time, it acquired Turkish parcel delivery provider MNG Kargo – which operates under DHL eCommerce.
The acquisition will see MNG Kargo’s expertise in parcel courier services combined with its extensive domestic network will assist DHL to further expand its service offering in Turkey and enhance the company’s strong cross-border European parcel network.
Growth through investment: In the UK, DHL Express announced in January it would invest £16 million in electric ground handling equipment at East Midlands Airport. The investment will stretch over three years.
Mordor Intelligence reports the global airfreight market is valued at US$ 151.22 billion in 2024. The Business Research company says there are a number of factors contributing to the growth of the industry. “The growing automotive industry is expected to propel the growth of the air cargo services market going forward.”
State of the airfreight industry
A DHL January 2024 report on the state of the airfreight industry and logistics says the demand for airfreight is expected to increase due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis. It adds that growth in the market will be led by perishables and raw materials in 2024.
Locate2u News reported last month that Air France-KLM will end its joint venture with CMA CGM. “The tight regulatory environment in certain important markets has prevented cooperation from working in an optimal way,” the company said in a statement.
Now Read: Red Sea: Switch to air freight the option for shippers
About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
