Winter sports logistics 2024/25

DHL has long-standing partnerships with the German Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Federation (BSD) and, more recently, with the IBSF and FIL. The collaboration enables synergies that save both time and CO₂. DHL reduces emissions through bundled shipments, paperless customs clearance and optimized processes - a win-win-win situation for athletes, associations and DHL.

Bobsleigh, skeleton and luge require complex and high-quality equipment. For the World Cup series and World Championships, DHL is required to transport this material safely and on time from one venue to the next.

The transports for the IBSF World Championships for bobsleigh and skeleton athletes, which will take place in Lake Placid (USA) in March 2025, are particularly challenging. In February, the equipment will be transported from Germany to the USA and back at the end of the event. The Cologne-Lake Placid route covers around 6,300 km per leg, making a total of 12,600 km. The luge teams also cover long distances: the equipment starts in January for the Eberspächer World Championships in Whistler, continues to the World Cups in PyeongChang and Yanqing and returns to Germany in February - a total of around 26,000 kilometers.

This season, 18 events are scheduled for the German national teams - and thus an intensive transportation requirement: 14 large crates (420x100x100 cm, 800-1,000 kg) are planned for the USA for the bobsleigh teams alone. In addition, there are 3 pallets for the skeleton equipment (700 kg, 120x80x160 cm) and 22 crates for the luge equipment (150x55x45 cm, 95 kg) for the round trip between Whistler, PyeongChang and Yanqing. The athletes are often involved in loading the equipment themselves to ensure that it is transported in exactly the right way.