In 2023, the global forwarding market was shaped by the post-pandemic normalization, the weak global economy and geopolitical wars and conflicts like those in Ukraine, in the Middle East and, at the end of the year, on the Red Sea. Due to the weak demand, market volumes were below that of the previous year, but they stabilized over the course of the year. With regard to air freight rates, normalization continued as expected and there were no major fluctuations. This trend was also observed for ocean freight, with a rise in rates setting in toward the end of the year as carriers began to pass on higher costs for freight rerouting on the Red Sea.
In the European road freight market, the decline in demand due to economic circumstances continued in the year under review and worsened in the third quarter of 2023, in particular. However, costs remained at a high level due to rising diesel, driver and vehicle prices, among other factors.
Global Forwarding, Freight: lower revenue in air and ocean freight as anticipated
Revenue in the Global Forwarding, Freight division fell significantly in the year under review by 36.1% to €19,305 million due to lower volumes and significantly decreased freight rates. Excluding negative currency effects of €871 million, revenue was 33.2% below the level of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2023, revenue in the Global Forwarding, Freight division amounted to €4,565 million and fell short of the prior-year figure by 32.9%.
Revenue in the Global Forwarding business unit decreased by 42.9% to €14,259 million in the year under review against the backdrop of the general normalization of freight markets. Without taking negative currency effects of €756 million into account, the decrease was 39.9%. Gross profit in the reporting period in the Global Forwarding business unit was down from the previous year by 25.5% to €3,685 million.
We registered a decrease of 12.1% in air freight volumes in 2023 that impacted all significant trade lanes. Air freight revenues dropped by 42.2% and gross profit by 41.5% year over year due to lower volumes and selling rates. In the fourth quarter of 2023, air freight revenue declined by 32.5% and gross profit by 45.4%. The volumes transported in ocean freight declined by 6.2% in 2023 compared with the previous year, with the decline caused by the development on trade lanes from Asia and Europe to North America. Ocean freight revenue in the reporting period dropped by 51.0% and gross profit by 24.8%. In the fourth quarter of 2023, our ocean freight revenue was 52.6% and gross profit 31.7% below the previous year.
In the year under review, revenue in the Freight business unit amounted to €5,162 million and was thus 3.9% below the previous year, with negative currency effects totaling €119 million. Volumes were down by 9.2%. Gross profit in the reporting period for the business unit fell slightly by 0.2% to €1,328 million. In the fourth quarter, revenue was 6.2% below the previous year; excluding negative currency effects of €28 million, the decline was 4.2%.
EBIT in the Global Forwarding, Freight division fell in the year under review, from €2,311 million to €1,423 million. The EBIT margin was 7.4%. EBIT in the division thus corresponds to 28.4% of gross profit and 34.6% for the Global Forwarding business unit. At €340 million, division EBIT in the fourth quarter of 2023 was below the prior-year level of €402 million. The conclusion of the acquisition of the remaining shares in DHL Logistics in the United Arab Emirates led to an earnings contribution of €114 million in the fourth quarter.
