The three top express operators are stepping up emergency measures, with DHL Express unveiling a global surcharge and suspending its main services to/from India, UPS suspending US service level guarantees and imposing a China outbound surcharge, and FedEx halting money-back guarantees worldwide.
Their rapid moves come as governments worldwide impose ever more drastic restrictions on the movement of people, including lockdowns and shutdowns in many countries, to try to slow the global spread of the Covid-19 virus.
DHL Express announced in a service update that it will introduce an Emergency Situation Surcharge for all Time Definite International (TDI) shipments worldwide with effect from April 1, 2020, to cover part of its current increased operating costs and necessary air network adjustments in response to the sudden slump in bellyhold capacity due to worldwide cancellations of passenger flights.
A company spokesperson told CEP-Research today: “The significant reduction in both available commercial air cargo space and destinations made it necessary to switch to more indirect routings as well as to purchase additional cargo aircraft capacity, which is hardly available.
“A large portion of the limited capacity is currently devoted to the transportation of critical medical supplies and personal protective equipment, delivered right to the doors of our customers, thus enabling them to stay safe in their homes. This, however, results in increased costs.”
The emergency surcharge will be a fixed amount per shipment, depending on the chargeable weight. The surcharge will be: €2.50 for shipments weighing 2.51– 30 kg; €15 for 30.1 – 70 kg; €50 for 70.1 – 300 kg; and €200 for shipments over 300kg. The surcharge does not apply to Day Definite International (DDI – road) or Time Definite Domestic (TDD) shipments, Life Science and Healthcare customers or DHL Medical Express (WMX) shipments.
“Without these measures it would not be possible to keep our operations up and running – serving our customers and also their customers. DHL Express is working around the clock to react and adjust the global network, adapting it to reflect the changes in capacity and demand, and together with our employees we aim to help keep the world moving,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, DHL Express is also temporarily suspending its main services to and from India in response to the government’s abrupt anti-coronavirus lockdown measures.
The worldwide service suspension to/from India was contained within its latest global TDI service update, published today (March 25). Otherwise, DHL Express currently has varying additional worldwide transit times to different key markets and several service suspensions to smaller markets with local problems.
UPS suspends US service guarantees, adds ex-China surcharge
For its part, UPS yesterday suspended its service guarantee for all U.S. origin shipments (both domestic and international) at any service level. But the company stressed that it is “open for business”, that its operations are seen as “critical infrastructure” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and it will “continue to pick up and deliver, even in restricted areas”.
In terms of surcharges, UPS will introduce a ‘Temporary Peak Surcharge’ on all shipments from China and Hong Kong to Europe and North America with effect from April 5, 2020, “to better manage the increased demand for air cargo capacity and the increased costs to maintain service during this period”.
The surcharge per chargeable pound (lb, weight) will vary by service type, with US$0.34 per lb for Worldwide Express shipments, $0.29 per lb for Worldwide Expedited, and US$1.13 per lb for Express Freight shipments.
FedEx suspends money back guarantees worldwide
FedEx also underlined that it is considered an essential business in the USA and may continue to operate under the country’s state of emergency and shelter in place orders. “We have been and will continue to operate to and from impacted areas as local conditions and restrictions allow,” the company emphasised.
However, it continued: “The impact of COVID-19 is causing local, state, and national governments around the world to issue work and travel restrictions on a daily basis which are impacting our ability to meet our high standards of service.
“As a result, we have made the decision to suspend our money-back guarantee for all FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Office services effective immediately until further notice.”
“FedEx Express is playing a crucial role in the global supply chain and connecting the world during this critical time, and we will continue operating as government restrictions and regulations allow. We also remain focused on serving our customers and providing relief supplies to areas that need it most,” the company added.
