DHL Express has announced it will continue to invest in the United States and the Americas to bolster growth in the region, with a strong focus on renewing its ground transportation fleet.
According to a media statement, the logistics giant has earmarked $185 million (€173 million) to spend on infrastructure, technology and people in 2016-17.
“DHL Express is continuing its strong progress in [the US and the Americas],” explained Ken Allen, member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Post AG, and CEO at DHL Express.
“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.”
Allen shared DHL Express will be spending $20 million (€18.7 million) in 2016 and 2017 to upgrade and expand its ground fleet, for example on more fuel-efficient vehicles including fully electric vans and electric forklifts.
A special focus will be on replacing trucks and trailer combinations with more efficient models as part of the company’s GoGreen strategy to reduce carbon emissions and its impact on the environment.
To cope with growing e-commerce volumes ¬– both in the US and internationally – the company’s ‘final mile’ strategy will also be under scrutiny: “We will continue to keep our focus on the last mile, leveraging technologies and solutions that provide added convenience for customers,” explained Mike Parra, CEO, DHL Express Americas.
According to Parra, the objective is to leverage the company’s global footprint to take a larger share of the cross-border B2C e-commerce market, which is expected to grow in absolute terms from $400 billion (€374 billion) today to a total global volume of $1 trillion (€934 billion) in 2020.
“As the most international company in the world, with a network that spans more than 220 countries and territories, DHL Express is uniquely positioned to handle growing cross-border e-commerce.”
According to DHL Express, the investment push will thus not only affect the company’s operations in the US, but also support growth in Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
Key investments include a $198 million (€184 million) upgrade of the company’s Mexico presence, a $7.5 million (€7 million) make-over of the Sao Paulo domestic hub in Brazil, as well as a range of “smaller investments” in Peru, Chile and several Central American countries.