The swiss forwarder's air logistics division handled 564,000 tons in the third quarter, up from 526,000 tons year-on-year, while net turnover declined 5%
Semiconductors and cloud infrastructure enabled Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) to keep airfreight volumes raised in the third quarter of this year, despite decreases in turnover and profit.
The forwarder confirmed it handled 564,000 tons in the third quarter of 2025, up 7.2% compared to 526,000 tons in the third quarter of 2024.
The quarter proved to be a challenging one for K+N. Net turnover in K+N's air logistics division was CHF1.6bn, down 5% year on year from CHF1.7bn.
Air logistics gross profit was also down 6.9% to CHF404m, from CH434m in the third quarter of 2024.
Air logistics yields had been "under heavy pressure", said K+N. "Q3 2025 was challenging for the entire airfreight industry, which also affected the profitability of Kuehne+Nagel Air Logistics," said the company.
However, K+N noted that in recent months it had expanded its airfreight network with new gateways in India, Canada, Italy and Spain. It also completed the acquisition of Asian freight forwarder Apex in the fourth quarter.
Overall, the K+N Group’s third quarter net turnover of CHF6bn was down 6.8% year on yeR and gross profit was down 3.7% to CHF2bn.
K+N announced it would be undetaking a cost reduction programme, including staff related, facilities and other 'variable' measures to achieve cost savings of CHF200m per annum.
Stefan Paul, chief executive of K+N said: “Despite very challenging market conditions, Kuehne+Nagel was able to gain market share through targeted investments in key areas. With the launch of group-wide cost reduction measures, we are now taking action to safeguard our cost base. Challenging external factors are forcing us to sustainably and permanently improve our efficiency and performance culture. Keeping high quality levels of customer service remains a top priority.”
