On November 11, DHL Express announced it has expanded its agreement with Retail Shipping Associates (RSA). RSA will now act as a preferred retail partner for the DHL Authorized Shipping Center network, supporting DHL international express services at thousands of independently owned or franchised retail shipping center outlets in the United States.

With the new agreement, DHL will consolidate support in the United States for retail access to international shipping services with RSA, in an effort to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to access DHL’s global express delivery network. RSA will provide DHL Express with management, customer service, technology, sales support, and promotional services for its expanding retail shipping network.

“This new partnership with RSA allows us to more effectively reach and serve small to mid-sized enterprises that operate globally and demand fast, reliable, secure international shipping services,” said Ian Clough, CEO of DHL Express USA.

DHL began its relationship with RSA 2 years ago and currently has 1,800 member stores that are part of the DHL Authorized Shipping Center network. Non-RSA mail and parcel stores that currently offer DHL international express services may continue offering these services with a basic, free RSA membership.

On September 22, DHL Express introduced the Boeing 767 Extended Range Freighter (ERF) aircraft into its air fleet, with the first commercial flight that left the Leipzig airport in Germany for DHL’s international gateway at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport in New York. The company anticipates that a total of six such aircraft, operated by United Kingdom-based DHL Air, will boost the company’s on-time performance and the reliability of its transatlantic services. The aircraft will replace the shared capacity of its MD-11F aircraft currently in use through a joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo.

Transatlantic trade has been at a continuously high level in recent years, with Europe-to-United States and United States-to-Europe trade flows reaching a value of US$347 billion and US$288 billion respectively in 2008. The company’s volumes in the transatlantic air express market remained at a high level during the recent economic crisis and are expected to increase when the global economy has fully recovered.

The 767ERF aircraft, which have a payload capacity of 59 tons and a maximum range of 3,700 miles, will serve daily direct flights between the United States and Europe, including between DHL Express’ major European hub in Leipzig (LEJ), Germany, and New York (JFK), and another between Cincinnati and JFK to and from East Midlands, United Kingdom. DHL is the first company to register this aircraft type in Europe, following certification through the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

“By introducing the Boeing 767ERF into our own DHL air fleet we are following our smart technology approach, which aims at achieving high efficiency gains through the use of the most modern technology available, wherever possible,” said Charlie Dobbie, Executive Vice President, Express Network Operations and Aviation. “Furthermore, operating this highly-reliable new aircraft type on our transatlantic routes proves that we are serious about further improving our capabilities for U.S. inbound and outbound international express services. Moreover, the aircraft’s efficiency also enables us to maintain a very competitive offer and implement our group-wide GoGreen strategy.”

The company said the key fuel efficiency and environmental benefits of the new fleet include the following:

• 53% less fuel per trip and 53% less CO₂ emissions.
• Savings of approximately 1,000 U.S. gallons of fuel on a typical return trip from Europe to the United States.
• Fuel savings of approximately 1,585,000 gallons per year, calculated for all six 767ERF aircraft on the transatlantic route, five times a week, 52 weeks a year.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have entered into a joint settlement agreement with DPWN Holdings (USA), Inc. (formerly known as DHL Holdings (USA), Inc.) and DHL Express (USA), Inc. (collectively DHL), regarding allegations that DHL unlawfully aided and abetted the illegal exportation of goods to Syria, Iran, and Sudan and failed to comply with recordkeeping requirements of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and OFAC regulations.  DHL will pay a civil penalty of $9,444,744 and conduct external audits covering exports to Iran, Syria, and Sudan from March 2007 through December 2011.

“Preventing exports to sanctioned countries and preserving export records are fundamental components of effective compliance,” said Kevin A. Delli-Colli, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement. “Large-scale compliance breakdowns lead to significant sanctions aimed at ensuring that freight forwarders put into place and maintain necessary measures to meet their compliance responsibilities.”

BIS charged that on eight occasions between June 2004 and September 2004, DHL caused, aided, and abetted acts prohibited by the EAR when it transported items subject to the EAR from the United States to Syria, and that with regard to 90 exports between May 2004 and November 2004, DHL failed to retain air waybills and other export control documents required to be retained under Part 762 of the EAR.

OFAC alleged that, between August 2002 and March 2007, DHL made numerous shipments to Iran and Sudan in violation of the OFAC regulations and that the company failed to maintain records with respect to other shipments to those countries.

In addition to the monetary penalty, DHL will hire an expert on U.S. export controls laws and sanctions regulations for an external audit of DHL transactions to Iran, Sudan, and Syria between March 2007 and December 2009. Annual calendar-year audits will be conducted in 2010 and 2011. The external auditor will assess DHL’s compliance with the EAR and OFAC regulations, including recordkeeping requirements.

Delli-Colli praised the BIS Office of Export Enforcement’s Miami, Washington, and San Jose field offices, along with OFAC, for their outstanding work on the case. The case represents the largest joint settlement involving BIS and OFAC.

On April 27, DHL Express announced the opening of two new gateways in Taiwan and South Korea. The DHL Express Taipei Gateway at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), Taiwan and the DHL Express Incheon Gateway at Incheon International Airport (ICN), South Korea, are equipped with technology intended to help DHL increase operational efficiency and enhance service quality and flexibility in express services.

DHL invested $6.2 million to build the new Taipei Gateway. The facility measures approximately 145,000 square feet, which is four times larger than the previous site. Shipment-handling capacity will be tripled, from 3,600 to 11,000 pieces per hour. Additionally, Taipei Gateway has a 24-hour drop-off center.

The new $50 million, 215,000 square-feet Incheon Gateway includes a fully automated sorting system for parcels, which is expected to allow for a fivefold increase of the distribution volume compared with the previous facility. An embedded six-camera sorting system captures the weight and size of each shipment, transmitting the data to the shipment control library.

At the same time, air waybill details are recorded in the sorting system. The Incheon Gateway will serve as a consolidation and distribution center from South Korea to markets such as Mongolia, northern China, and eastern Russia. It will also serve as the intercontinental link to the United States and Europe.

DHL has also added a new Boeing 747-400F aircraft to serve its  Singapore-Hong Kong route through Air Hong Kong, a joint venture between Cathay Pacific and DHL. The 110-ton Boeing freighter will operate between both cities 6 days a week, more than doubling capacity on the Singapore-Hong Kong route.

On April 20, DHL Global Forwarding (DHL) launched a GPS tracking system for its less than container load (LCL) ocean freight shipments out of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and also unveiled garment-on-hangers boxes, which are now available for LCL services.

This follows DHL’s announcement in March 2009 of an investment of $8 million in Sri Lanka over 3 years, with plans for a new warehouse and distribution center by 2010. As part of this investment, by the end of 2009, DHL expects to launch the “DHL Fashion and Apparel Center for Excellence” in Colombo, which will be responsible for developing tailored solutions and provide consultancy services to customers.

“We’re committed to Sri Lanka and its potential as sourcing and distribution gateway for the South Asia region,” said Ashwani Nath, country manager for DHL Global Forwarding Lanka. “These two innovations in Sri Lanka are specifically for LCL ocean freight shipments.”

The company believes the real-time data provided through the GPS tracking system via the Internet can help customers in Sri Lanka to improve supply chain processes, better evaluate delivery times, monitor container routes, and reduce costs of risk management. Its deployment follows a successful trial in February 2009.

The GPS sensor devices report on the security status of the shipments, as well as environmental conditions inside the container, including temperature, humidity, shock, vibration, and light. These sensing capabilities also help in the detection of cargo theft and damage.

Garment-on-hangers is a system for transporting hanging garments. The boxes can be loaded on trucks, airline unit loading devices, and containers, which can eliminate any need to transfer items or open boxes as they move in the supply chain.

On March 11, Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), announced during the Strategy 2015 press conference that DPWN will now operate under the new name of Deutsche Post DHL. The new Deutsche Post DHL will rest on two pillars:  integrated international logistics and mail.

Following the aggressive expansion phase of the recent years, the new focus will help unlock the company’s potential to increase organic growth, Appel said.

The new strategy aims for a two-tier structure with MAIL and DHL as well as tighter links between the three DHL divisions.  An additional overarching executive committee has been created as well. The new committee will be tasked with facilitating cooperation among the three DHL divisions.

The company plans to target specific sectors, such as life sciences or technology, under a dedicated sector management. In addition, ha new organizational unit, DHL Solutions & Innovation, will centralize all previous innovation activities will be bundled in order to pursue customer-specific logistics solutions with the help of new technologies. This central function will report directly to the CEO.

DHL Express has inaugurated a logistics industry gateway at Mexico City’s International Airport. The company has also launched a customer service call center. The US$ 6.2 million facilities were designed to increase its operational capacity and strengthen its Mexican and international network.

The company’s gateway has the ability to inspect 100% of all importing shipments using an advanced X-ray system. The new center has a handling capacity of 100,000 shipments per month, representing an increase of 300% in its operating capacity.

DHL Express plans to invest US$200 million in Latin America alone over the next 2 years, CEO John Mullen announced during his recent visit to Argentina and Brazil. Mexico plays a major role in DHL Express’ strategic expansion in the International Americas region. The opening of these centers is part of a 5-year strategic investment plan for Mexico. Investment during during 2008 in key areas including the expansion of the Hangares HUB which increased the logistics service and shipment handling capacity by 20% as well as the replacement of DHL’s ground fleet with environmentally friendly pick-up and delivery vehicles.

DHL Express, an express delivery and logistics company,has announced 22% revenue growth in its Import Express Worldwide — a door-to-door service designed to expedite imports into the Caribbean.

“The Caribbean has always been a region with enormous economic potential since it imports twice as much as it exports,” said Steve Garside, Commercial Director of DHL Express Caribbean.

The company says the growth it has experienced has been driven primarily by an increase in imports in the technology industry as well as in other sectors, including third-party import-exports and automotive. The top two DHL Express import trade partners for the Caribbean are the United States and France. In addition, the highest activity for imports using Import Express Worldwide in the Caribbean has been in the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Cayman, Jamaica, and French territories in America.

“This growth in imports indicates that businesses in the Caribbean have embraced the speed, reliability, security and simplicity offered by the solution and still have enormous potential for more growth,” stated Jaime Hooker, Vice President of DHL Express Caribbean. “Twenty-two percent growth is both amazing and encouraging because it signifies how different countries and industries have adopted this service. In times of economic uncertainty, businesses must utilize and take advantage of efficient resources and tools to their maximum capacity.”

DHL has announced plans to abandon domestic business within the United States. Beginning January 30, 2009, DHL’s U.S. Express business will focus entirely on its international offerings and will discontinue its domestic-only air and ground services.

The announcement was made on November 10 at a press conference held in Bonn, Germany, by Deutsche Post World Net, parent company of DHL U.S. Express.

DHL U.S. Express will close its U.S. ground hubs and reduce the number of stations from 412 to 103. This is expected to result in an additional reduction of 9,500 U.S. jobs at DHL Express on top of the approximately 5,400 positions already eliminated since January. The company plans to retain 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. Express employees.

The company plans to maintain its international express service in the United States at current levels and the United States will remain an integral part of DHL’s global network. All international shipments to and from the United States will still be delivered, while 99% will be picked up.

The company says that there will be no impact to services offered by the other DHL/DPWN businesses in the United States, such as Global Forwarding/Freight, Supply Chain/Customer Information Services (CIS) and DHL Global Mail.

Danzas AEI Emirates, part of DHL, officially opened a new 80,000-square-meter logistics facility in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) on November 5.

“The Gulf is ideally positioned, with access not just to Europe, Africa and Asia, but also to the fast developing Indian subcontinent and its huge manufacturing output,” said Hermann Ude, CEO DHL Global Forwarding, Freight.

The Chairman of Danzas, H.E. Ahmed H Al Tayer, said that the investment in the new high tech facility demonstrated an ongoing belief in the significance of Dubai as a global business hub. “Dubai’s visionary development and first class infrastructure offers the business world an opportunity to access the enormous potential of the Middle East and beyond. We will continue to pursue an ambitious plan to facilitate increased trade and market development, both regionally and globally,” he said.

With the global freight market set to reach $1.4 trillion by 2020, and Gulf imports and exports reaching $320 billion at the end of 2007, the new facility is an essential addition to the Danzas service portfolio, according to Enver Moretti, CEO and President, EMA Region, DHL Global Forwarding.

Danzas AEI is one of four businesses operating in the Middle East under Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN).