DHL Group will invest more than $447 million in Central and Eastern Europe by 2030, betting that Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania become the production and distribution backbone of European supply chains. The Bonn-headquartered group (XETRA: DHL) added the four countries to its 2030 strategic growth plan, which targets a 50% revenue increase between 2023 and 2030.

The money spreads across most of DHL's business units: warehousing capacity, ground freight transport, supply chain control towers and international express services. One concrete project sits in Katowice, where DHL Express plans a new air freight express terminal.

"Central and Eastern Europe is becoming increasingly important for global trade flows and supply chain networks. Poland, in particular, is developing into one of Europe's most dynamic logistics and manufacturing hubs," said John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. "As customers strive for greater resilience and flexibility, they need logistics partners who can seamlessly connect production, inventory, and markets across borders."

What does this change for shippers?

More capacity, closer to where production is actually moving. The four target countries keep pulling in European manufacturers, distributors and foreign companies chasing proximity to EU consumers — the nearshoring trade that has reshaped European network design since 2020. For shippers already sourcing or storing goods in the region, DHL's buildout means more warehouse options, denser ground freight lanes and faster express connectivity without routing through western hubs.

The pattern fits DHL's wider allocation logic. The group said last year it would spend more than $570 million expanding capacity in the Middle East, and it keeps investing at home in Germany. In short: capital follows trade flow forecasts, and the forecast here is pointed east.

Poland as the anchor

DHL's Globalization Tracker, published this month with NYU's Stern School of Business, makes the case in numbers. Over the past decade, Poland's merchandise trade grew more than twice as fast as global trade and 2.7 times faster than trade inside the EU. The forecast: Polish goods trade will grow 28% faster than global trade and 91% faster than EU trade over the next three years.

Trade relations are diversifying too. Germany remains Poland's key partner and most Polish trade stays intra-EU, but flows with the United States and China have climbed significantly over ten years.

"Central and Eastern Europe is consolidating its role as a strategic location for production, distribution, and regional fulfillment activities, particularly for companies seeking closer proximity to the European market," said Hendrik Venter, CEO of DHL Supply Chain.

That unit moved first in Romania, entering the market through an expanded partnership with Polish retailer Pepco. DHL Group has already put serious money into Poland: in 2024 it opened a $201 million international logistics centre in Poznań — one of the largest investments in its Polish history — serving DHL eCommerce, DHL Freight and Post & Parcel Germany, and linking Poland to European and global markets. DHL eCommerce also runs a large network of fulfillment centers, parcel lockers and pickup points there, and Poland ranks among DHL's ten biggest markets by headcount, with more than 10,000 employees.

Germany still gets capacity

The home market isn't being left behind. DHL Express last week officially opened a new station in Cologne-Marsdorf: 215,000 square feet, three Pick-up and Delivery bays, 78 loading and unloading bays, a warehouse area with 35 bays of its own, a sortation system handling up to 6,000 domestic and international parcels, and 78 EV charging points.

Further east in Germany, DHL is on track to finish a 315,000-square-foot logistics center outside Jena, in Thuringia, by March. The high-tech city gets warehouse services aimed at semiconductor, healthcare and battery technology customers — Zeiss, the optics manufacturer, is one key DHL Supply Chain account in the area.

The message to forwarders and competitors is straightforward: DHL is pricing Central and Eastern Europe as a structural growth region, not a cyclical bet, and the Poznań-to-Katowice buildout will land well before the 2030 deadline.