Kuehne + Nagel’s airfreight business continued its outstanding development in 2018. The company increased tonnage by 11.0 percent to 1.74 million tons, thereby once again achieving significantly higher growth than the market. EBIT and conversion rate exceed prior-year levels and reflect the overall very positive development in this business unit. A further improved service portolio with a focus on industry-specific solutions and selective investments were drivers of this success.

In 2018, global e-commerce and the increasing demand for temperature-controlled shipments and time-critical freight led again to an increase in worldwide transport performance in airfeight. However, market volume growth only reached about 2.2 percent, being much below the previous year. This was sparked in part by insecure exporters observing protectionist tendencies globally, as well as increasing fuel prices.

In this environment, Kuehne + Nagel focused again on the expansion of its service offering through acquisitions in particularly fast growing segments. The acquisition of Quick International Courier, one of the major of its kind in the history of Kuehne + Nagel, complements the Group's portfolio with a global leader in time-critical transport and logistics solutions for the pharma & healthcare and aviation industries. Acquiring the business of Panatlantic Logistics SA, an Ecuadorian company specialised in the airfreight transport of perishable goods, Kuehne + Nagel confirms its position in the export market to the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. With both acquisitions, the company strengthens its presence in high yield growth markets while expanding its industry-specific solutions.

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