MAY VOLUMES: MIXED GROWTH ACROSS ROUTE NETWORK
| INVESTOR NEWS no. 18 - 11 June 2026 |
Ferry – freight: In May 2026, total volumes of 3.6m lane metres were 1.8% below 2025 and down 1.7% adjusted for route changes.
North Sea volumes were above 2025 following higher volumes on most routes. Mediterranean volumes were overall below 2025, partly due to a higher number of Turkish public holidays in May 2026 compared to 2025. Volume growth on the Egypt and Tunisia routes continued.
Channel volumes were below 2025 driven by lower volumes on the Dover Strait. Baltic Sea volumes were well above 2025 and Strait of Gibraltar volumes were also above 2025.
For the last twelve months, the total transported freight lane metres increased 0.3% to 41.8m from 41.7m in 2025-24 and decreased 1.5% adjusted for route changes.
Ferry – passenger: In May 2026, the number of passengers adjusted for route changes decreased 1.9% to 443k compared to 2025. The decrease was due to fewer departures and hence lower volumes on Strait of Gibraltar which offset higher Channel volumes.
For the last twelve months, the total number of passengers decreased 14.2% to 5.0m compared to 5.8m in 2025-24. The decrease was 5.0% adjusted for route changes.
| DFDS ferry volumes | |||||||||
| May | Last-12-months | ||||||||
| Freight | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change | |
| Lane metres, '000 | 3,510 | 3,672 | 3,604 | -1.8% | 39,839 | 41,658 | 41,765 | 0.3% | |
| Passenger | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change | |
| Passengers, '000 | 574 | 452 | 443 | -1.9% | 5,288 | 5,849 | 5,018 | -14.2% | |
DFDS reports monthly ferry volumes for freight and passengers to provide insight into the development of volume trends in our European route network enabling trade and travel in and around Europe. The June 2026 volume report is expected to be published on 10 July 2026 at around 10.00am CET.
Contact
Karen Boesen, CFO & Interim CEO +45 20 58 58 40
Søren Brøndholt Nielsen, IR +45 33 42 33 59
Dennis Kjærsgaard, Media +45 42 30 38 47
About DFDS
We operate a transport network in and around Europe with an annual revenue of DKK 30bn and 15,000 full-time employees.
We move goods in trailers by ferry, road & rail, and we offer complementary transport and logistics solutions.
We also move car and foot passengers on short sea and overnight ferry routes.
DFDS was founded in 1866 and headquartered and listed in Copenhagen.
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