DHL Express announced it is investing EUR 690 million between 2020 and 2022 to build or expand its facilities in key growth markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong SAR and South Korea. Equally, it intends to spend close to EUR 60 million to bolster its Asia Pacific air network such as introducing direct, new (e.g. Vientiane, Yangon), and frequent (e.g. Oceania) flight routes.

DHL Express expects shipment volumes in Asia Pacific to be 30-40% larger than last year’s peak season, which typically starts around November and lasts until Lunar New Year.

Many SMEs in Australia and New Zealand, which have traditionally relied on economy services, are increasingly switching to express delivery services. This trend has led to a more than 40% increase in DHL Express Australia’s inbound and outbound volumes since May 2020.

DHL Express has significantly increased its number of dedicated flights to and from Australia to around 30 regular services per week, compared to 10 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This includes a new flight that connects Melbourne, Auckland and Christchurch, as well as a new 4x-a-week flight between Hong Kong SAR and Sydney.

In September, the company launched its EUR31 million Sydney Service Center, which is double the size of the previous facility and is equipped with an automated high-speed sorting system that processes up to 4300 shipments per hour.

By end 2021, DHL Express will kick start operations at the expanded Brisbane Gateway and Service Center, in which the company will spend EUR 13.2 million to increase floor space by 148% and double its processing capacity. New and expanded facilities are also being planned for Melbourne and Adelaide in the near future.

Sean Wall, executive vice president, network operations and aviation, DHL Express Asia Pacific, said, “The pandemic has caused unparalleled changes to the air cargo industry and it will likely take a long time for the industry to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

“Having a dedicated fleet and well-implemented contingency plans have helped to keep our network fully operational despite the overnight disappearance of commercial air belly cargo space.

“The growth in e-commerce shipment volumes will continue to outpace the available air cargo capacity in the industry, strengthening the case to invest in adding new dedicated aircraft to our fleet, open up new routes, and supplement our fleet with charter flights.”

DHL Express currently has 23 dedicated aircraft in its Asia Pacific fleet, and operates around 1040 flights per day. The company will be adding a new Airbus A330-300P2F to its Asia Pacific fleet in February 2021, as well as a new Boeing 737-800F in March 2021.

Globally, the company has increased the number of its daily flights significantly. This includes four new Boeing 777F wide-body aircraft that were put into service just this year, with two more expected to be delivered next month. These six additional aircraft will enable DHL Express to carry out more than 3000 additional intercontinental flights per year.

The expanded infrastructure and new flight routes across Asia Pacific will help the company tackle the unprecedented growth in shipment volume and address the ever-growing demand for time-definite express deliveries. Since the start of 2020, DHL Express has experienced a 50% surge in e-commerce shipments in Asia Pacific (excluding China).

Utilising a brand new Boeing 777-200LRF with a capacity of up to 102 tonnes, DHL Express now flies four times a week from its US hub in Cincinnati and the Los Angeles gateway to the DHL Express South Asia Hub in Singapore, via Sydney. The dedicated route shortens transit time for shipments to and from the US, and allows DHL to operate with greater efficiency while meeting the mounting demand for express deliveries.