Swiss global forwarder and logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel recently announced its results for the nine months to the end of September, figures which suggested a slowing of market demand but higher profits.

In the January-September period, K+N experienced lower sales growth but higher profi ts. Indeed, the company points to hardening profit margins, citing transpacific traffic out of the US as being particularly healthy. The company also explains its strengthening margins over the year to date as being due to adding value to customers via IT based solutions.

For the first six months of the year, K+N reported strong business growth, with net turnover climbing by 9 per cent compared with the fi rst half of 2007 to CHF13,606 million (€8,877 million) and EBITDA by 8 per cent year-on-year to a total CHF771m (€502 million). But in the third quarter in isolation, net turnover grew by 7 per cent whilst EBITDA fell by 1 per cent.

K+N reported a slowing in the growth of demand worldwide for sea freight, in particular, which helps explain the lower turnover.