Mega parcel volume for the festival: DHL expects "unmatched shipment volumes"

Christmas is not long in coming. The parcel delivery service DHL Express is therefore expecting a new record in terms of shipment volumes soon. The reason for this is not only the corona crisis, but also a change in purchasing behavior.

The parcel delivery service DHL Express, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, expects "unprecedented shipment volumes" worldwide in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The volume in the global network of DHL Express will increase by more than 50 percent compared to the previous year, the group announced. "Globalization and digitization are driving online shopping and express shipping to new heights." This development is accelerated by the changed purchasing behavior due to the corona pandemic.

DHL Express referred to the upcoming "popular mega-shopping days": the Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday action days from the USA, on which US retailers traditionally attract their customers with special offers, as well as the entire Christmas business. Consequently, the group expects an "all-time high".

DHL Express claims to have more than 100,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories. According to the company, a large additional number of cargo flights is necessary in order to cope with the volumes of online shipping, but also that of protective and medical goods, since a large number of passenger aircraft are still not flying. DHL Express has significantly increased the number of its daily flights and put six new aircraft into operation.

Hermes and DPD also have high expectations

A few days ago, Hermes and DPD announced that they expected volume growth of 20 percent compared to the previous year. While DPD, a subsidiary of the French Post, did not give an absolute figure, Hermes spoke of an expected 120 million parcel deliveries in the last quarter of the year, a fifth more than a year earlier. The two companies are Deutsche Post's fiercest competitors.

The smaller competitor GLS, a subsidiary of the British Royal Mail, also expects booming business. "This year we are assuming a record volume, which will be driven by higher online orders," said a spokeswoman last week. GLS Germany expects an increase of more than 100,000 parcels per day.

According to the industry's understanding, the Christmas business begins as early as October when people order their first gifts for their family and friends on the Internet, and ends with the wave of returns of unsuitable gifts after Christmas.

.