The DKV Transport Price Index Releases First Evaluations

Starting from mid-July 2020, the mobility service provider DKV offers the DKV Transport Price Index (short: DKV TPI). With this index, DKV provides logistics service providers as well as their customers with a neutral and reliable basis for orientation regarding transport price developments, thus offering targeted support in price negotiations. The index values are provided by the company Logistics Advisory Experts (LAE), a spin-off of the University of St. Gallen.

(Ratingen) With the July 2020 issue of the DKV Transport Price Index (DKV TPI), the partners DKV and LAE are publishing the figures for this new service for the first time. The DKV Transport Price Index aims to contribute to fair price negotiations between industry and trade on one side and logistics service providers on the other side.

Below are the first results:

The KEP Index for Germany

In the KEP index for Germany, it is noticeable that since the end of March/beginning of April 2020, the level is similarly high as it usually is only during the Christmas season. Until February 2020, the level was in a similar range as the average in 2019. Due to the lockdown, prices surged significantly and only slightly decreased towards the end of June.

The FTL/LTL Index for Germany

In road transport for full and part loads, the situation looks quite different. While the year 2019 was relatively balanced in terms of prices, prices even increased in January 2020, only to fall drastically by April. Although prices began to rise again slightly from May, they are still far from last year’s levels.

Support for Price Negotiations

The mobility service provider DKV offers the DKV Transport Price Index starting from mid-July 2020. With this index, DKV provides logistics service providers as well as their customers with a neutral and reliable basis for orientation regarding transport price developments, thus offering targeted support in price negotiations. The index values are provided by the company Logistics Advisory Experts (LAE), a spin-off of the University of St. Gallen. The index values are calculated based on a scientifically founded methodology. The data basis consists of real transport data from logistics service providers and shippers from various industries. “The index provides better guidance because it is available faster than comparable indices and, as a purely digital product, processes larger amounts of data,” explains Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Stölzle, Managing Director at LAE. “Additionally, it also has a predictive function, thus offering three unique selling points compared to other index products.”

The DKV TPI consists of several indices. This is due to the fact that several logistics market segments exist that develop differently in terms of transport prices, necessitating the formation of a separate sub-index for each. The segments initially consist of the areas FTL/LTL and KEP, focused on the German market.

Later Also for General Cargo and Other Countries

Later, additional segments (particularly general cargo) with sub-indices as well as country markets (especially Austria and Switzerland) will be added. The respective indices will be quantitatively calculated based on actually realized transports (shipment data). Data from market participants, so-called data providers, will be used. This includes logistics service providers and shippers. LAE guarantees a balanced composition of the circle of data providers, ensuring that the results of the DKV TPI reflect the overall market. The number and names of the data providers will not be disclosed.

A central element of the DKV TPI is the forecast. Unlike products from competitors, the DKV TPI predicts future price developments in the respective market segments based on a quantitative method. This calculation is based on the historical index values that were previously calculated. The results of the DKV TPI thus consist of two parts: the historical and the predicted index values. For the forecast, both an upper and a lower confidence limit are provided.

Graphics: © DKV/LAE

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