DHL Prepares For Holiday Season Peak On "Super Monday"

Given the annual shopping-and-shipping frenzy that marks the height of the holiday season, DHL, the world’s leading express delivery and logistics company, is taking steps to ensure that holiday shipments arrive at their destinations on time. DHL enters the peak day of December 17 - known to those in red and yellow DHL uniforms as "Super Monday" - with 10,000 team members strong at its primary U.S. hub as well as tens of thousands of others across the country to efficiently move packages through the DHL network. Overall, DHL expects to move over 14.5 million packages across the globe on Super Monday.

"Preparation for the holiday season and our very own ’Super Monday’ began the day after Christmas 2006" said John Cameron, executive vice president of operations for DHL. "Members of our cross-functional team - from our air and ground fleet, to sales and service - have been working closely for this year-long ramp up. The formula for success is communicating regularly with our customers to understand their needs plus planning for the expected, but being prepared for the unexpected"

Today, DHL expects a 50 percent increase over its average daily volume during the first three quarters of this year, as it will deliver approximately 2.5 million packages and pick up 2.3 million packages across the United States. In addition to its primary hub in Wilmington, OH, the volume increase will be shared by DHL’s Allentown, PA, facility on the East Coast, which will process up to 90,000 shipments per hour today, and by its West Coast facility in Riverside, CA, which will process 60,000 shipments per hour.

"We are seeing heavy customer reliance on ground shipping this holiday season and are prepared to manage today’s expected spike in ground volume" added Cameron.

DHL has taken the following steps to manage shipments during the peak of this 2007 holiday season:

- DHL has added more than 440 daily truck routes to its regular network schedule, a 25 percent increase over its average daily ground linehaul capacity.
- Nearly 10,000 staff members, including hundreds of seasonal and temporary workers, are working around the clock at DHL’s principal air and ground hub in Wilmington, OH, to ensure customer packages reach their destinations in time for the holidays.
- The workforce has also increased at DHL’s 18 other U.S. regional sort centers by 50 percent.
- The average daily volume for DHL@home, DHL’s business-to-consumer service in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, will more than double during the month of December, driven by online retailers, catalog companies and other business-to-consumer shipments.
- During the month of December, DHL expects to double the volume of packages handled through DHL drop boxes and its nationwide retail network of DHL Authorized Shipping Centers(R), including OfficeMax(R) locations and independent mail and parcel centers.
- During the month of December, DHL projects a 10 percent increase in customer shipments processed online and a 30 percent increase in online tracking requests over last season.

DHL offers a variety of access points and solutions that help customers prepare and manage all of their shipping needs. Customers can drop packages off at any one of DHL’s 470-plus service centers, 4,400 retail shipping locations, and DHL drop boxes across the U.S. Customers can also log on to www.dhl-usa.com, or call 1-800-CALL-DHL, to schedule a pick up at home or at work.

Important Dates for Holiday Shipping
To ensure their shipments arrive in time for Christmas, customers can ship packages as late as December 21 using DHL’s next day 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. services. The deadline for shipping packages through DHL 2nd day is December 19. For those special, last-minute deliveries, customers can turn to DHL’s Same Day Service, which operates seven days a week, 365 days a year. Customers can log on to www.dhl-usa.com, or call 1-800-CALL-DHL for more information on holiday shipping options.

To learn more about how DHL is preparing for the 2007 holiday season, visit www.dhl-usa.com/holiday/. Members of the media may access free multimedia, including DHL video content and print-quality stills, by visiting www.thenewsmarket.com/DHL. Media may also request interviews and visits to DHL service centers around the nation to photograph stills or B-roll by contacting the DHL USA Press Office at (954) 888-7114 or usa.pressoffice@dhl.com.

About DHL
At DHL, Customer Service is back in shipping. Our mission is to provide the most flexible, personable and enjoyable experience in the shipping industry for our customers.

DHL is the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, specializing in providing innovative and customized solutions from a single source. DHL offers expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport, contract logistic solutions, as well as international mail services, combined with worldwide coverage and an in-depth understanding of local markets. DHL¿s international network links more than 225 countries and territories worldwide with over 300,000 employees dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed customers’ expectations.

Founded in San Francisco in 1969, DHL is a Deutsche Post World Net brand. The group generated worldwide revenues of $80 billion in 2006*. For more information about DHL, visit www.dhl.com.