Development in the year under review
- Performance declines in energy-intensive manufacturing sectors and intermodal transport.
- Additional burdens due to strikes by GDL and wage increases.
- Economic development remains under significant pressure – countermeasures and implementation of the transformation program with positive effects.
| DB Cargo | 2024 | 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolute | % | |||
| Punctuality (%) | 68.2 | 69.7 | –1.5 | – |
| Customer satisfaction (grade) | 2.9 | 2.8 | +0.1 | – |
| Freight carried (million t) | 179.8 | 197.6 | –17.8 | –9.0 |
| Volume sold (million tkm) | 68,545 | 74,458 | –5,913 | –7.9 |
| Volume produced (million train-path km) | 131.0 | 146.9 | –15.9 | –10.8 |
| Capacity utilization (t per train) | 523.3 | 506.7 | +16.6 | +3.3 |
| Total revenues (€ million) | 5,402 | 5,582 | –180 | –3.2 |
| External revenues (€ million) | 5,058 | 5,279 | –221 | –4.2 |
| EBITDA adjusted (€ million) | 66 | –74 | +140 | – |
| EBIT adjusted (€ million) | –357 | –497 | +140 | –28.2 |
| EBIT margin (adjusted) (%) | –6.6 | –8.9 | +2.3 | – |
| Gross capital expenditures (€ million) | 349 | 319 | +30 | +9.4 |
| Employees as of Dec 31 (FTE) | 29,483 | 31,359 | –1,876 | –6.0 |
| Employees annual average (FTE) | 30,561 | 31,558 | –997 | –3.2 |
| Employee satisfaction (SI) | 3.6 | – | – | – |
| Share of women as of Dec 31 (%) | 13.6 | 13.2 | +0.4 | – |
| Absolute greenhouse gas emissions Scope 1 and 2 compared to 2019 1) (%) | –32.1 | –12.2 | –19.9 | – |
1) Includes DB Cargo AG and foreign subsidiaries of DB Cargo without their stationary facilities.
DB Cargo’s punctuality fell slightly. The reason for the drop in punctuality is the high construction volume and associated reduction in capacity on freight routes. Volumes dropped significantly. High process stability was able to keep operational disruptions at a low level. These developments are also one of the reasons why the number of trains in backlog is at a stable level. The outdated and fault-prone infrastructure had a negative impact on the quality of service.
Customer satisfaction at DB Cargo declined slightly in 2024. The main driver of overall customer satisfaction is operational performance, which is primarily influenced by transport performance in addition to transport information and wagon provision.
Freight carried as well as volume sold and volume produced fell significantly in 2024. This was driven in particular by weak demand from the energy-intensive manufacturing industry and the decline in intermodal transport in Central Europe. Additional burdens resulted from the strikes by GDL. The takeover of traffic from SNCF Fret by DB Cargo France had a dampening effect. As a result, and due to better utilization of the ordered train paths, capacity utilization increased slightly.
The operating profit figures improved because expenses fell more sharply than income. Economic development remains very challenging; adjusted EBIT was still clearly negative.
- Revenues (–3.2%/€ –180 million): The performance-related decline, particularly in Germany and the UK, was exacerbated by negative exchange rate effects. Thanks to the implemented price increases and strong project business, DB Cargo was able to partially compensate for the decline in volumes.
- Other operating income (+27.3%/€ +149 million): The increase was driven, among other things, by the higher single wagon transport support in Germany and one-off effects from the sale of land in the United Kingdom and vehicles. This was partly offset by lower income from Government train-path and facility price support in Germany as well as the absence of positive one-off effects in the previous year.
On the expense side, there was a decline driven by cost of materials, mainly due to performance. Adjusted for exchange rate effects, the decline was somewhat less pronounced.
- Cost of materials (–5.0%/€ –171 million): Largely performance-related decrease, in particular for energy, purchased transport services and train path usage. Lower electricity prices also had the effect of reducing expenses. Higher train-path usage fees had a partially offsetting effect.
- Other operating expenses (–6.2%/€ –50 million): Decrease largely due to the spending monitoring and control program introduced in 2024 in DB Group (mainly for consulting services, marketing, Group charges), lower valuation allowances on customer receivables at a subsidiary and lower IT-related expenses.
- Depreciation: Development at the previous year’s level.
The increase in personnel expenses had a dampening effect:
- Personnel expenses (+2.7%/€ +55 million): The increase is, above all, due to collective wage agreements and in conjunction with the implementation of the transformation program for severance payments and part-time work leading up to retirement agreements. This was partially offset by a lower average number of employees.
The increase in capital expenditures resulted primarily from vehicle projects in Germany.
The number of employees fell as a result of declining volumes and a lower number of hirings in connection with the transformation program that was launched.
DB Cargo’s recruitment initiatives focused on the recruitment of women. The proportion of women has increased as a result of these targeted recruitment measures.
The significant decrease in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2019 resulted, among other things, from a higher proportion of HVO in the total amount of fuel used to refuel multiple units. In electrified rail freight transport, use of the driver assistance system LEADER resulted in energy savings.