Markets and strategy
As the European market leader, DB Cargo operates the largest rail network on the continent with more than 4,500 access points and makes a significant contribution to the transport and climate policy goals in Germany and Europe.
We focus on our customers’ wishes: to organize their supply chains in Germany and Europe simply and reliably. To that end, DB Cargo offers flexible logistics solutions – with rail as the core service – to shift as many transports as possible from road to rail. We also support greenhouse gas reduction for entire industries: sustainable product options such as 100% eco-power No. 1 or HVO fuel No. 164 make a more environmentally friendly supply chain possible right down to the last mile. The strategic positioning of DB Cargo is, therefore, according to the slogan “Europe needs a strong rail logistics provider. For the climate and for a sustainable economy.”
The successful market liberalization in rail freight transport has led to an intense competitive situation for DB Cargo. In addition, major customers of DB Cargo – the German and European industry – are facing long-term structural changes and have to drastically reduce energy costs. This is particularly true for the steel, chemical and automotive industries, which traditionally transport a lot by rail. Furthermore, new technologies are being introduced in product ranges and value chains, including e-mobility in the automotive industry, which also has an impact on transport and logistics. In addition, there are increasingly frequent short-term fluctuations in transport volumes, which require more flexibility in supply and delivery chains, as well as restrictions on available train paths due to construction work on the rail network in Germany.
To operate economically successful in this environment, DB Cargo is focusing on a radical transformation in the short term, which is also part of the S3 restructuring program. The transformation to a new and simpler business logic is aimed at creating the conditions for long-term competitiveness and the necessary profitability.
As part of the transformation, complex processes and joint systems in production and administration are being broken up and organized into smaller, more agile business entities. These business entities operate like independent, autonomous companies: they are responsible for quality, production, sales and their own financial results. With their own personnel, locomotives and freight wagons, they work and make their own production and economic decisions and manage their resources independently. This targeted allocation of our resources enables us to create entities that are more flexible and can react more quickly. This should, despite the many construction measures on the rail network, enable us to ensure the quality of our logistics services through rapid and precise intervention.
Industry or customer group logic forms the basis of the business entities in which all business entities address the respective needs of their customers as specialists. In detail:
- The combined transport segment is made up of the maritime and continental areas. The so-called main carriage is performed by rail transport, which is supplemented by road transport in the pre-carriage and/or on-carriage. Despite the economic downturn, combined transport is the market of the future in rail freight transport.
- The Steel, Automotive, Liquids&Bulk and Full Load Solutions entities as well as Europe’s largest single wagon network will form the rail logistics service provider segment in future. We want to offer logistics solutions, which contain rail services at their core and supplement this with additional modules (e.g. road transport, warehouse and other individual logistics services). Furthermore, the international subsidiaries are part of the DB Cargo network and can be further developed or focused according to customer requirements.
Single wagon transport is used by the business entities as required. It is to be further developed to create a supply-oriented, standardized and resilient network and rendered significantly more cost-efficient. Furthermore, we aim to replace older shunting locomotives with modern, more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly dual-mode locomotives. Given single wagon transport is an essential part of today’s rail freight transport in Germany and Europe, but cannot be operated on a purely commercial basis as a full-coverage network under the current framework conditions, Germany, following several other European countries, has also been subsidizing operating costs for single wagon transport since 2024. This supports the preservation of the full-coverage network. In the medium and long term, the efficiency of the system is also to be increased by way of new technologies such as the digital automatic coupling (DAC).
Personnel changes have also been made to render processes more efficient. Our operational personnel should be deployed more and more in fixed and predictable cycles. The basis for this should be new deployment models for our multiple unit drivers, which DB Cargo has agreed on with the employee representatives. One example of this is the “strong long-haul driving.” Furthermore, DB Cargo plans to expand its cooperation with external partners to increase efficiency and flexibility. Comprehensive personnel measures are a difficult but necessary step, which are to be implemented in a socially responsible manner and adjust personnel costs in line with the market.
The transformation aims to enable the DB Cargo business model to have independent economic viability, whereby DB Cargo will make a significant contribution to the S3 restructuring program.