DHL's Christmas wish
November 20, 2013
Deutsche Post DHL told DPA news agency on Wednesday customers' increased willingness to order products online had been pushing the company's parcel delivery service considerably.
The firm was confident it would be able to break all previous delivery record during the upcoming Christmas season.
"For the first time in our history, we look set to deliver 8 million parcels a day," Deutsche Post's Jürgen Gerdes said, adding that would be, on average, about one million parcels more than last year.
Bursting at the seams
Gerdes pointed out 10,000 additional seasonal jobs would be created to rise to the logistical challenge, while more than 60 additional trains would be ordered from rail operator Deutsche Bahn to help get the parcels to their destinations in time.
Deutsche Post said some 750 million euros ($1.02 billion) were earmarked in 2012 to extend the company's parcel delivery capacities. Gerdes said the investment was meant to suffice for 10 years. "But we've been growing much faster than predicted," he added.
Earlier this month, the company reported a 6-percent net profit jump for its third-quarter parcel business year-on-year, with bottom-line earnings reaching 399 million euros, up from 377 million euros in the same quarter a year earlier.
hg/se (dpa, AP)