Sweden is a large and sparsely populated country, which has led to an oligopoly
in the general cargo market where the two dominant players typically have
controlled 80% of the flows. The forwarders are now part of German groups DB
Schenker and DHL, respectively, and maintain a strong grip on the consolidation
market, with some challenge by the logistics arm of PostNord, which is the merger
of the Swedish and Danish post offices. The empirical basis for the case study in
part three was structured personal interviews with CEOs of the pick-up and delivery
hauliers who act as subcontractors to DB Schenker and DHL in Gothenburg.
They were selected as case study companies based upon their sizes and dominant
positions in the local pick-up and distribution market. They are considered as
representatives for the segment and choosing two similar road hauliers facilitates
comparison since the same questions were asked to both CEOs. Both CEOs used
the opportunity to comment on the interview transcripts in order to avoid
misinterpretation and to increase reliability. The road hauliers were interviewed
in their Swedish context, although the aspects covered should be rather universally
relevant to city distribution.