DHL Express Germany will put up prices for most customers by 4.9% on average from next January but hike rates more strongly for heavier items and some other customers.
“Our aim is to offer our customers the best possible quality at a reasonable market price. Our clear aspiration is to be the quality leader in the market,” Markus Reckling, Germany country manager, told CEP-Research today. “We have constantly invested in quality and we also have an increasing cost base. We partly need to pass that on to our customers.”
He added: “We have a huge investment programme globally and in Germany to make sure we give the best possible quality. We have never been so good in our quality as this year. But that comes at a price.”
Apart from the overall average increase, Reckling explained that price increases would additionally be differentiated depending on the weight mix of the shipments, the destination mix as well as on the customer’s overall volumes and growth profile.
DHL wants to encourage customers to ship more conveyable consignments that can be processed automatically through its sorting systems in contrast to heavier non-conveyable shipments that require costly manual handling.
“We are still taking every shipment up to 300kg per piece. But we have got much more refined in making sure every shipment is properly packed and priced according to the cost it is driving. We are probably treating lightweight shipments a bit better than in the past and we are a bit stricter regarding the heavier shipments,” he commented.
Explaining the background to the forthcoming rates increase, Reckling pointed out that the company has invested significantly in its Germany network and capacity. “In Germany we have increased the number of routes by 10%. Between 2017 and 2020 we will have invested €200 million in our German network.” Openings last year included large stations in Hamburg and Leipzig as well as several smaller stations.
At the same time, DHL Express, like all players in the CEP and logistics sectors, faces challenges in terms of labour availability and costs. “There is a real shortage of labour, especially for couriers. That is driving up prices.”
In addition, the company’s diesel fuel costs have risen up by a single-digit figure compared to last year, the Germany chief pointed out.
