DHL Predicts 15% Rise in Holiday Mail
DHL expects more than a 15 percent increase above its average daily U.S. volume in December, the global express delivery and logistics company said last week.DHL, Plantation, FL, predicts its peak pickup day this season will be Dec. 13, when it expects to pick up more than 2.2 million packages from U.S. customers.
On its peak delivery day, which is expected to occur Dec. 20, the company said it also plans to handle more than 2.2 million domestic packages, which would be a 50 percent rise over average daily volume.
DHL said the increase in volume between Thanksgiving and Christmas will require its partners to add 76 domestic flights weekly. To accommodate the higher volume passing through the DHL domestic ground network in that time, DHL plans to boost its ground line-haul operation to about 2,000 truck routes daily -- up 12 percent from the average number of DHL truck routes.
The company this year announced a $1.2 billion investment in its U.S. operations. The investment, which included the expansion of its facility network through the opening of seven new regional sort centers, increased DHL's ground delivery capacity 60 percent.
