This statistic compares the volumes of insourcing and outsourcing in the European logistics market in 2016, by market segment. That year, specialized transportation was equally insourced and outsourced in the European logistics market.

Germany was the largest logistics market in Europe. As of 2016, the country’s market was worth *** billion euros. This value was nearly equal to the combined logistics markets of the United Kingdom and France, which were the second and third entries in this list, respectively.
Germany profits from its location in central Europe, its well established infrastructure as well as it being the home of some of the largest logistics providers worldwide, like Deutsche Post DHL and DB Mobility Logistics.

Logistics Performance Index

According to an annual survey by the World Bank, Germany was also the leading global logistics provider in terms of performance, reaching **** index points. The Logistics Performance Index measures on-the-ground trade logistics performance. Of the best scoring five countries, four were European.

Emerging markets

In terms of future development, China looked to be the most promising emerging market. As of 2019, it held an Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index of ****, pushing it ahead of two other Asian countries, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2021, the average warehouse take up in Germany was *** million square meters. As of the second quarter of 2021, the take up rate amounted to *** million square meters, which was the second highest recorded during the period under observation.

The road freight sector is the largest employer within the European Union's (EU) transport industry. In 2021, the road freight sector hired over *** million people, putting it ahead of warehousing and support activities, which employed almost *** million workers.Of EU member states, Germany had the greatest transport workforce.

This statistic shows the number of Internet of Things (IoT) active connections in the tracking sector in the European Union (EU) in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2025. The number of IoT active connections in the tracking sector was expected to increase through the years. It was at 13.26 million connections in 2016, and it was expected that it will reach 124.80 million connections by 2025.

Snapshot img

The airfreight forwarding market share is expected to increase by 7107.92 thousand tons from 2021 to 2026, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.48%.

This market research report provides valuable insights on the post COVID-19 impact on the market, which will help companies evaluate their business approaches. Furthermore, this report extensively covers market segmentation by application (manufacturing industry, retail industry, and other industries) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America). The market report also offers information on several market vendors, including AP Moller Maersk AS, Agility Public Warehousing Co K.S.C.P, Aramex International LLC, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., CEVA Logistics AG, CJ Logistics Corp, Deutsche Bahn AG, Deutsche Post DHL Group, DSV Panalpina AS, FedEx Corp., Gati Ltd, GEODIS, Kerry Logistics Network Ltd., Kuehne Nagel International AG, Nippon Express Holdings Inc, Omni Logistics LLC, Singapore Post Ltd, SINO Group, United Parcel Service Inc., and XPO Logistics Inc. among others.

What will the Airfreight Forwarding Market Size be During the Forecast Period?

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Airfreight Forwarding Market: Key Drivers, Trends, and Challenges

Based on our research output, there has been a negative impact on the market growth during and post COVID-19 era. The growing e-commerce sector is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the growing global rail logistics market may impede the market growth. Our research analysts have studied the historical data and deduced the key market drivers and the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the airfreight forwarding industry. The holistic analysis of the drivers will help in deducing end goals and refining marketing strategies to gain a competitive edge.

Key Market Driver

The growing e-commerce sector is notably driving the global market growth. The growing Internet penetration and improving purchasing power parity across all the regions are primarily bolstering the development of the global e-commerce market. The US and China are the key contributing countries to the global e-commerce market. For instance, in 2018, the business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce industry in the US accounted for more than 10% of the overall retail sales in the US. Furthermore, the US e-commerce market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. The augmented online sales are expected to positively influence the volume of global airfreight during the forecast period.

Key Market Trend

Increasing US agricultural export to China is the key market trend driving global market growth. The US exports of agricultural products to China recovered in 2016 after a fall in 2015. In 2020, agricultural products from the US worth about $26.5 billion were exported to China. The products included meat, cut flowers, seafood, and others. In 2017, China reduced the value-added tax on primary agricultural products to 11% from 13%. The tax reduction is further expected to enhance the imports of agricultural products in China. This, in turn, is expected to increase the demand for airfreight forwarding service because quick delivery is required to prevent the spoilage of agricultural products.

Key Market Challenge

The growing global rail logistics market is the major challenge impeding the global market growth. The global rail logistics market is expected to register moderate growth during the forecast period. The growing rail infrastructure and low transportation costs are the main factors triggering the growth of the market. The freight volumes, especially that of the dry cargo, are exhibiting an upward trend since 2009. For instance, in 2018, about 19% of cereal grains transported within the US were through intermodal rail. In Europe, the demand for rail logistics services is from pharmaceutical and electronic component manufacturers. The rise in rail freight volumes is primarily because of its lower operating cost compared with sea freight and air freight. The growth of rail logistics operations is expected to be a threat to the vendors of the global market during the forecast period.

This market analysis report also provides detailed information on other upcoming trends and challenges that will have a far-reaching effect on the market growth. The actionable insights on the trends and challenges will help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies for 2022-2026.

Parent Market Analysis

Technavio categorizes the global airfreight forwarding market as a part of the global air freight and logistics market. Our research report has extensively covered external factors influencing the parent market growth potential in the coming years, which will determine the levels of growth of the market during the forecast period.

Who are the Maj

In wholesale prices, European slate market amounted to €255M in 2016, reducing noticeably over the last nine years. This figure reflects total revenue of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). In physical terms, the market stood at 2.6M tons, which reduced by 3% after a period of robust growth over 2013-2015.

This statistic shows the turnover volume in each field of the transport sector in the 27 European Union member states in 2020. In that year, land transport and transport via pipelines generated the highest revenue, with a total of ****** billion euros. Ranked second, warehousing and support activities generated ***** billion euros in turnover. The total transport turnover in Europe was *** trillion euros.

Bucharest, Riga, and Tallin were the cities with the highest prime warehouse yields in Europe in the first quarter of 2025. Conversely, the major markets in Germany had warehouse yields of **** percent, which was the lowest across the European cities in the ranking. Other markets with low yields were London, Paris, and Rotterdam. In real estate, yield is a measure of the rate of return and is calculated as the ratio of the annual income to the total investment cost. Yields in markets with higher property values are typically lower, displaying lower investment risk due to better capital value and rental growth prospects over the period of the investment. That can be seen in markets such as London, Paris, and Berlin, which, despite being among the most sought-after investment destinations, had some of the lowest prime yields. How have yields developed in recent years? As a function of income and costs, many political and market factors can contribute to yield fluctuation. In Germany, prime warehouse yields declined steadily between 2014 and 2021, followed by an increase in 2022 and 2023. The rise in net prime yields reflects a slowdown in commercial property values amid a decline in the investment market. Investment in industrial and logistics real estate Industrial and logistics emerged as one of the most resilient commercial real estate sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses sought strategies to strengthen supply chains and boost e-commerce. Nevertheless, challenges in the commercial real estate market related to a tougher lending environment, asset repricing, and a worsening investor sentiment caused commercial real estate investment volumes in Europe to plummet in 2023. This also affected the industrial and logistics real estate investments, with the value of capital allocated to the sector reaching the lowest value since 2016.

In recognition of the contribution of navigation activities to greenhouse gas emissions, there are ongoing efforts in Europe to deploy zero- and low-emission vessel technologies. The main objective of this paper is to present an assessment of waterborne transport decarbonization in Europe by analyzing key policies and trends. In particular, the policy actions put forward by the European Union Member States and the United Kingdom between 2016 and 2018, including refueling infrastructure, the market evolution of alternatively-powered vessels and their techno-economic barriers are investigated. Our work focuses on electricity, hydrogen and natural gas. Our findings suggest that the policy and market responses to promote alternative fuel and electric vessels in Europe so far have been rather weak and lag behind the efforts exerted on road transport. Our conclusion is that, besides further research and development, more ambitious policy measures are needed to keep the prospect of waterborne transport decarbonization within reach in Europe.

This statistics shows a ranking of the total take-up volume of logistics property in the Netherlands in 2018, sorted by logistics hotspot (in square meters). The Netherlands is considered an important hub in the logistics behind retailers and e-commerce companies in Europe. The total stock on the Dutch logistics market was approximately ** million square meters in 2016. In 2018, the highest take-up numbers were reached in the south of the country with Venlo reaching a take-up of ******* square meters. The city of Venlo houses Trade Port Venlo Noord, which supplies fashion brands.

This statistics shows the prime rent of logistics property in the Netherlands in 2019, by logistics hotspot (in euros per square meter). The Netherlands is considered an important hub in the logistics behind retailers and e-commerce companies in Europe. The total stock on the Dutch logistics market was approximately ** million square meters in 2016. In the second quarter of 2019, Schiphol Airport reached the highest prime rent with roughly ** euros per square meter. Prices were lower in the south of the country, reaching ** euros per square meter in both Roosendaal and Venlo. The city of Venlo houses Trade Port Venlo Noord, which supplies fashion brands.