DHL Express says its continuing its investment plan for the US and the Americas as growth in the region is meeting its expectations.
The integrator has $185 million earmarked for 2016 and 2017, which it says is focused on infrastructure, technology, and people – to continue to provide the “highest quality service and superior customer experiences”.
Besides investing in its operations in the US, DHL Express says it is also committing funds to support its growth plan in the region including Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
Deutsche Post AG and DHL Express chief executive officer (CEO), Ken Allen (picture above) explains: “DHL Express is continuing its strong progress in the US. As part of our focus on international express shipping and our commitment to continually improving customer service, we are directing our investments toward upgrading our facilities, expanding our staff and providing them with the technology they need to enhance productivity and to be more efficient.”
DHL Express has completed a portion of the $108 million investment project at its Americas Hub, located at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, which was announced last year.
And it is also spending $20 million in these two years to upgrade and expand its ground fleet, adding more fuel-efficient vehicles including fully electric vans and electric forklifts at its New York JFK facility.
Next year, the company will focus on replacing trucks and tractor-trailer combinations with more efficient models as part of the company’s overall GoGreen strategy to reduce carbon emissions and its impact on the environment.
To deal with growing shipping volumes, DHL Express is applying an additional amount of nearly $60 million to expand and add facilities as well as provide technology/security upgrades and new equipment such as the new courier scanners.
It has added three new service centres in New York City, Chicago, and Seattle as well as expanded another three this year. It upgraded its Los Angeles gateway in 2016 and plans to add a new gateway in Chicago and refurbish its JFK gateway in 2017, adding a new, improved automated sort system that will facilitate earlier morning deliveries in the New York market.
DHL Express has added 655 new jobs in the US so far this year to better handle growing e-commerce volume, which is increasing in the region and Americas CEO, Mike Parra says: “Going forward, we will continue to keep our focus on the last mile, leveraging technologies and solutions that provide added convenience for customers.”
DHL Express is expecting to see a significant volume increase year over year during the 2016 holiday season and notes the continued strong US dollar means consumers can shop abroad for holiday gifts, so a bigger gain in import volume is expected. However, it expects smaller gains in outbound shipments because the higher dollar makes US goods more expensive to foreign buyers.
The express freight carrier is investing an additional $105 million in the Americas region including $12 million in Canada, adding new service centres in Calgary and Ottawa this year as well as one in Quebec next year and a new gateway in Vancouver.
Others, include $38 million in Mexico in 2016 and 2017, in addition to its existing $160 million five-year capital investment plan already announced. The additional funds provide 38 new outlets for a total of 500 retail service points, two new service centres this year and two more in 2017, a ground fleet upgrade and an aircraft upgrade for the domestic hub.
And $7.5 million in Brazil to cover a major upgrade to the Sao Paulo domestic hub and service centre including a head office relocation and smaller investments in Peru, Chile and several Central American countries.
“These investments are a clear sign of our expectations for strong growth and of our commitment to the US and the Americas,” says Allen. “We will continue to invest in this region and in our people to meet the growing demands of our customers and deliver superior service to them across the region.”
