DHL Express is growing well in Mexico this year after good results in 2009 thanks to stronginternational business and a recovery in the domestic market, country manager Luis Eraña told
CEP-Research in an interview.The company, which “is proud of having been able to build a profitable and well recogniseddomestic and international service”, is benefiting from an upturn in Mexican exports to the USA andother international markets as well as from better conditions in the domestic economy, heexplained. Air capacity between the USA and Mexico has recently been expanded in response to higherdemand.
In 2009, DHL Express Mexico increased international sales by 10%, with a 17% rise in guaranteedtime-definite international deliveries. The company handled more than 100,000 domestic andinternational shipments a day, making Mexico into the fifth-largest market for DHL Express inglobal terms. The company, whose revenues are not disclosed, is in the midst of a five-yearprogramme to invest $112 million in expanding services and operations in the country.
Business is also going well this year. “Due to the world crisis, the last two years werecomplicated for the whole logistics industry. As far as this year is concerned, we see a solidrecovery for our business in Mexico with a constant increase in terms of volumes,” Eraña said. “Ourcustomers from many industries show positive trends, such as those in high-tech, automotive,retailers, financial services, etc. We don’t anticipate a step back in the recovery; probably theworst case scenario would be moderate growth,” he added.
Relocation of production from Asia to Mexico has been a vital factor behind this growth,according to the experienced manager. “Mexico is probably the biggest manufacturer contractor forthe USA, which is the largest market in the world. The trends show that a lot of industries arereturning their production lines to our country after searching for better manufacturing pricesoutside Mexico, for instance in Asia,” he pointed out.
“That is basically for one reason. Mexico’s industrial groups realised they needed to lowertheir costs and raise quality in order to compete with Asia. Once that happened, imports andexports have again shown a positive trend. North America and Asia-Pacific continue being a largeportion of our business, although movements from and to Central/South America and Europe aregrowing even faster.” US imports and exports have grown significantly this year, he noted.
DHL Express Mexico has expanded its international services over the last couple of years tostrengthen its market leadership, Eraña pointed out. New products include Express 10:30 and 12:00,and Import Express Worldwide.
The operational network is also expanding. In August, the company increased air capacity by 30%on its flights between its US air hub at Cincinnati and the major cities of Monterrey andGuadalajara by using a new B767-200 in place of a DC8-73. This followed a 50% rise in exports fromGuadalajara and a 42.5% increase in shipments from Monterrey in the first half of this year. DHLExpress also has international flights serving Mexico City, the north-west city of Hermosillo andMérida on the Yucatán peninsula. Earlier this year a new depot was opened at Poza Rica in theeastern state of Veracruz.
A major development was the US$6.2 million expansion of the company’s air hub at Mexico Cityinternational airport in January 2009. The 2,600 sqm state-of-the art gateway increased sortingcapacity to 1,500 pieces per hour.
DHL Express Mexico is also satisfied with development of the domestic market, Eraña stressed. “We consider that the domestic express market in Mexico will continue growing, probably at aslightly slower pace than 2004 through 2008, but we are confident that we will reach that pacesooner than we thought.”
The company offers a wide range of domestic delivery services, including Domestic Express 8:30,10:30 and the deferred service Domestic Economy Select. “We are the indisputable internationallogistics leader company in that segment. It represents a large portion of the total express marketin the country. No one knows the Mexican market as we do, and the clients know that,” Erañadeclared. In 2009, despite the economic downturn, DHL Express had increased its customer base inMexico by 20%, he pointed out.
A new night-time service, DHL Servicio Nocturno, has been launched, enabling customers to dropoff shipments until midnight at a Mexico City branch and have them delivered next day to citiessuch as Guadalajara, Monterrey and Hermosillo. In June, the service was extended to drop-offs atdesignated branches in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Cancún and Mérida.
