The Raben Group, one of the largest European logistics providers, will focus on its core areas of land transport and contract logistics in the future. As the company confirmed, the air and sea freight business will be fully sold by January 1, 2026. In Germany and Poland, the Danish Leman Group will take over, while in Italy, the segment will go to the forwarder Sogedim.
According to Raben CEO Ewald Raben, the move is part of a strategic realignment. He explained to the Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ):
“We are focusing on land transport and warehouse logistics in 17 countries.”
The revenue from the Air-&-Sea division was recently around 35 million euros—less than two percent of the group’s revenue of 2.2 billion euros.
Leman strengthens global expansion
For Leman, the takeover is another step in its international growth strategy. The Danish logistics company is taking over about 40 Raben employees at locations in Hamburg, Gdynia, Warsaw, and Poznań and fully integrating the activities into its own network.
“Germany and Poland are key markets for us with great potential,” declared René Bach Larsen, CEO of the Leman Group. “When the opportunity arose to take over the Air-&-Sea activities of our long-term partner Raben, it was a logical next step.”
The acquisition complements Leman’s road and contract logistics network in Northern Europe. Over the past four years, Leman has expanded its presence in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Mexico, increasingly positioning itself as a global provider focusing on intercontinental transport chains.
Structural change in the industry
Raben is not alone: Dachser also announced at the end of September that it will streamline its air and sea freight organization in Germany. The logistics service provider will close five smaller ASL locations—including Berlin, Dresden, and Mannheim—at the turn of the year and will focus future processing on eleven larger hubs.
Dachser CEO Burkhard Eling justified the measure by stating the need to “increase efficiency in a tense market environment.”
Indeed, the global sea and air freight market has been under pressure for months. The Ocean Freight Tracker by Transport Intelligence (Ti) indicates that European sea freight rates fell to the lowest level in 20 months in the summer of 2025.
The Headhaul Index fell to 131.8 points in August, the weakest level since early 2024. Meanwhile, ports like Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Antwerp are suffering from congestion and capacity bottlenecks, while low water levels on the Rhine are slowing inland shipping.
Retreat as strategic focus
Given the difficult market environment and low returns in the sea and air freight business, the withdrawal of many providers is understandable.
Raben is responding to a trend visible throughout the industry: the focus on profitable core segments.
For the Danes of Leman, however, the acquisition is an opportunity to strengthen its own international network.
Both companies share a common goal: in a volatile market, they aim to set clear priorities to ensure long-term growth.
