Logistics Insights from German Industry: Mapping Production and Transport at the regional level
Germany is Europe’s industrial powerhouse, home to some of the continent’s densest and most diverse manufacturing clusters. A network of regional production hubs feeding domestic demand and international trade corridors that make Germany central to European supply chains.
Using Geobirds’ AI-driven mapping, we’ve charted Germany’s production and logistics landscape, breaking it down by region, sector, and the international transport flows each cluster generates.
🏭 Where German Production Happens and What That Means for Transport
Germany’s industry is concentrated in a few powerhouse regions, each with a distinctive mix of sectors:
North-Rhine Westphalia - Germany’s largest state. Leads in machinery, electronics, building materials, automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, pharma, and natural resources.
Bavaria - Machinery, electronics, building materials, automotive, chemicals, and food; a key southern industrial hub.
Baden-Württemberg - Machinery, electronics, building materials, automotive, chemicals, and packaging; strongly export-oriented.
Lower Saxony - Machinery, building materials, food; strategically located for northern European flows.
Hesse - Electronics, machinery, building materials, pharma; central for air and road corridors.
Hamburg - Machinery, food, electronics; northern gateway for Scandinavia and global air freight.
Other notable regions include Saxony, Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Saarland, Brandenburg, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, each with specialized production clusters in machinery, electronics, building materials, and food & beverage.
These industrial hubs define Germany’s freight flows, both domestic and international, and create a uniquely diversified intra-European transport landscape compared to hubs such as the Netherlands, which are heavily concentrated on DACH flows.
🚛 Road Freight: Germany’s Export Corridors
Road freight is the backbone of Germany’s logistics, connecting its regional industries to European neighbours. The top corridors are ranked from largest to smallest by volume, with the largest connected regions and products:
Eastern Europe - North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg. Machinery and industrial goods dominate.
UK - North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg. Machinery, automotive, and consumer goods.
France - North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg. Machinery, electronics, and building materials.
Benelux - North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg. Short-haul flows in machinery and electronics.
Italy - Bavaria, North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg. Machinery and industrial exports.
Iberia - Bavaria, North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg. Machinery and industrial goods.
Scandinavia - North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Schleswig-Holstein. Machinery and electronics.
Poland & Baltics - Bavaria, North-Rhine Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein. Niche flows.
Insight: Germany’s road freight landscape is highly diversified, with multiple corridors of comparable scale feeding intra-European trade. Unlike the Netherlands, which focuses mostly on DACH, Germany balances flows across Eastern Europe, France, UK, Benelux, Italy, Iberia, and Scandinavia, reflecting the country’s broad industrial footprint.
✈️ Air Freight: High-Value, Time-Sensitive Flows
Germany’s air freight is concentrated in industrial hubs, but export volumes are significantly higher than most other European regions:
FEWB (Imports from Asia): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse
FEEB (Exports to Asia): North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria
TAWB (Exports to North America): North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria
TAEB (Imports from North America): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse
Insight: Germany’s air freight is dual-centered. North-Rhine Westphalia drives industrial exports, while Bavaria and Hesse support high-value international trade. Export volumes (FEEB and TAWB) are among the highest in Europe, reflecting Germany’s status as a global manufacturing hub.
🚢 Ocean Freight: Strategic Ports and Flows
Germany’s ocean freight is concentrated in North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg, with northern ports like Hamburg connecting the country to global markets. Export volumes are similarly high, exceeding most other European regions:
FEWB (Imports from Asia): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
FEEB (Exports to Asia): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
TAWB (Exports to North America): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
TAEB (Imports from North America): North-Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse
Insight: Germany dominates both import and export ocean freight flows. Export volumes (FEEB and TAWB) are among the largest in Europe.
📍 Region-Specific Logistics Profiles
Each region has a distinctive production and tradelane orientation.Products and tradelanes are ranked from largest to smallest by volume:
North-Rhine Westphalia: Machinery, electronics, building materials. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) UK, 3) Benelux
Bavaria: Machinery, electronics, building materials. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) Italy, 3) France
Baden-Württemberg: Machinery, electronics, building materials. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) UK
Lower Saxony: Machinery, building materials, food. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) Benelux
Hesse: Machinery, electronics, building materials. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) Benelux, 3) UK
Hamburg: Machinery, food, electronics. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) Scandinavia
Thuringia: Machinery, building materials, electronics. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) Benelux
Saxony: Machinery, building materials, electronics. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) Benelux, 3) France
Saxony-Anhalt: Machinery, building materials, chemicals. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) Benelux
Saarland: Machinery, building materials, electronics. Corridors: 1) France, 2) Eastern Europe, 3) UK
Rhineland-Palatinate: Machinery, building materials, food. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) France, 3) UK
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Machinery, food, building materials. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) UK, 3) Benelux
Brandenburg: Machinery, building materials, food. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) Scandinavia, 3) Benelux
Berlin: Machinery, electronics, food. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) UK, 3) France
Bremen: Machinery, automotive, electronics. Corridors: 1) Eastern Europe, 2) UK, 3) Benelux
Schleswig-Holstein: Machinery, electronics, building materials. Corridors: 1) Scandinavia, 2) Eastern Europe, 3) UK
Insight: Eastern Europe is consistently the largest corridor for almost every German region. However, multiple secondary corridors (including France, UK, Benelux, Italy, Iberia, and Scandinavia) create a highly diversified intra-European network.
🧭 Why Germany’s Logistics Geography Matters
Germany’s logistics strength comes from both scale and diversity. North-Rhine Westphalia anchors the industrial heartland, Bavaria drives southern exports, Hamburg connects northern and global flows, and Hesse bridges air and road trade. Together, these regions form a highly diversified transport map, making Germany the linchpin of European logistics and global trade.
For logistics providers, understanding which regions feed which tradelanes is critical to building networks aligned with actual freight demand.
👉 Want to see how your service profile matches these flows? Geobirds identifies the right shippers and regions so your business grows in sync with real transport patterns. Book a demo.