https://www.simplydhl.com/covid-19updates

FROM DHL:

Dear valued customer,

In the face of the challenges posed by the current global COVID-19 situation, DHL Express is working to maintain a reliable delivery service for you and your customers. As mentioned in our previous message, we are currently mobilizing our business continuity plans, monitoring and responding to rapidly changing local conditions. We are also making safety our top priority.

We do this because we strongly believe in our company mission: “Connecting people, improving lives”. Never has that been more necessary than it is today. Enabling the flow of goods, ranging from consumer products to relief supplies, plays a crucial role in the welfare of the world’s citizens and the stability of our societies.

In order to ensure operational continuity and to keep connecting the world with a high-quality service, we will temporarily and until further notice levy an Emergency Situation Surcharge.

SURCHARGE DETAILS: NOW ORIGIN CHINA AND HONG KONG ONLY

WHY ARE WE CREATING THIS SURCHARGE?

DHL Express transports your shipments around the world using our own fleet of dedicated DHL cargo aircraft, supported by significant amounts of commercial air cargo purchased on passenger flights. This unique model provides the coverage, capacity and service levels that you, have come to expect, connecting all 220+ countries and territories worldwide.

You will all have seen in the news or experienced firsthand the dramatic impact the current COVID-19 crisis is having on the global aviation industry, resulting in significant reductions or complete cancelation of passenger flights in most countries.

Our Global Network teams have been working around the clock to react and adjust our network, adapting it to reflect the changes in capacity and demand resulting from the global upheaval. The massive reduction in available commercial air cargo capacity and destinations has necessitated a switch to more indirect routings and the purchase of additional cargo aircraft lift, which is in high demand.

These factors, among others, increase our costs during this period to unsustainable levels.

This Emergency Situation Surcharge will allow us to cover part of the operating cost increases and the necessary air network adjustments during the time of this emergency situation.

Please find below the mechanism of this surcharge:

For shipments billed in lbs

For shipments billed in kgs

WHEN WILL THE SURCHARGE TAKE EFFECT?

The Emergency Situation Surcharge will be effective as of the 8^th April 2020 until further notice.

IN WHAT INSTANCES WILL THE SURCHARGE APPLY?

The Emergency Situation Surcharge will be applicable to all Time Definite International (TDI) shipments.

It is not applicable to Day Definite International (DDI – road) or Time Definite Domestic (TDD) shipments. It also does not apply to our Life Science and Healthcare customers and DHL Medical Express (WMX) shipments.

We kindly ask you to ensure your invoice approval cycles & process have been updated accordingly to avoid any delays.

LATEST NETWORK UPDATES

To help you keeping up to date on our operations in impacted countries, you will find via the link below the latest update on our network status:

This website will be updated twice per week. In case you need further specific detail about the actual operational status in your country, please contact your account manager or customer service representative.

DHL Express will continue to make necessary adjustments to ensure we remain a reliable partner for all your express shipping needs. We will also continue to inform you about any major changes in our service offering. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out to your DHL account manager.

Thank you for your trust and cooperation.

Regards,

DHL Express

FROM GLOBALTRANZ:

Here is the latest information from the GlobalTranz team, our customer and carrier networks, and industry sources:

 
 
Market Conditions:

• LTL: 

Currently, most carriers are fully operational both for pickup and delivery as well as backoffice support.

We have received several updates from carriers that are taking the following steps to limit exposure to the virus:

• Stopping all Inside Deliveries

• No signature on delivery receipt required

• Shipments that are sent to closed businesses will be held at the terminals 

We are receiving initial reports of some embargoed locations and will provide updates as we learn more. 

Currently, we have received no word on capacity being an issue or any potential closures of terminals or call centers that would disrupt any business.

• Truckload:

The TL market is becoming more volatile due to continued increased demand, some loss of capacity, etc. 

Spot load postings are up 18% from last week.

Load to truck ratios for vans have increased 31% from last week. Nationwide, load-totruck ratios rose higher last week in nearly every region except the Pacific Northwest.

Contractual lanes and rates are continuing to see increases. This is due to capacity leaving the market as carriers choose to take higher-paying spot freight, or simply opt to park their trucks. Through this crisis, it is important to remember that drivers are people too, and this virus is understandably making them nervous as well. We have not seen or heard reports of large numbers of drivers being pulled off the road, but this bears watching and GlobalTranz will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The shutdown of restaurants and bars will place a greater strain on local food, beverage and home goods retailers. As this occurs, we expect increased demand for capacity to restock shelves to continue.

Some food and beverage manufacturers are running out of product and keeping up with demand has proven to be difficult. This has resulted in TONU's or short-shipping product. 

Some shippers are choosing to push/roll loads vs. paying to get them moved. While effective in the short-term, at some point these shipments must move, and may create a buildup of TL volume that will further tighten capacity and drive rates higher. o We are hearing reports of long wait times for drivers to unload. In some cases, this is due to a shortage of warehouse/dock staff.

Overall, shippers have shown understanding and flexibility as all parties work together to come up with practical solutions. For example, some shippers have waived fines associated with OTD and have indicated their priority is to support the needs of the consumers rather than penalizing their logistics partners.

• Cross-Border:

Exports from Mexico into the U.S. have increased, particularly CPG products.

The U.S./Canadian border has been closed to non-essential travel but remains open for cargo shipments. 

• IMDL:

Currently, intermodal capacity is plentiful. There have been no significant changes to rates.

Westbound volumes have increased. Intra-western volumes have also increased due to tightness in OTR capacity.

Containers are still in short supply.

• Closures:

The state of Pennsylvania initially announced the closure of all 35 of its highway rest stops, including access to truck parking. This is already resulting in an increase in tender rejections in PA. As of this writing, PA has announced that it will reopen 13 rest stops for parking only.

• Ports:

Officials announced today that Port of Houston’s Barbours Cut and Bayport Container terminals are closed until further notice due to a reported case of COVID-19 in an employee.

All vessel, yard, and gate operations have been stopped until further notice.

All Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles terminals are open and operational.

• Government/Regulatory Bodies:

The FMCSA issued an expanded emergency declaration and has waived the HOS requirements for essential shipments including:

Medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19;

Supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants;

Food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores;

Immediate precursor raw materials- such as paper, plastic or alcohol- that are required and to be used for the manufacture of items in categories (1), (2) or (3);

Fuel;

Equipment, supplies and persons necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine, and isolation facilities related to COVID-19;

Persons designated by Federal, State or local authorities for medical, isolation, or quarantine purposes; and

Persons necessary to provide other medical or emergency services, the supply of which may be affected by the COVID-19 response.

Operational Continuity: 

The GlobalTranz cross-functional coronavirus Task Force is meeting daily and in continuous contact with all office locations to ensure seamless continuity in our business operations.

In order to slow the spread of illness, safeguard our team members, and ensure operational continuity, we continue to implement the following preventative measures:

We continue to emphasize proper procedures when coughing or sneezing (i.e., use a tissue and dispose of it properly or cough/sneeze into your elbow if tissues are not available).

Employees are required to immediately report illness, either their own or that of a family member, to our People Operations team.  o We encourage employees to sanitize their workstations and phones on a daily basis as well.  o We continue to monitor best practices per the CDC.

All non-essential business travel has been postponed until further notice.

Outlook:

We anticipate that TL capacity shortage will continue as consumer demand for food, beverages and home goods remains high.

We expect that when Western U.S. ports resume activity, this will result in additional capacity tightening.

We are monitoring spring season shipping activity to gauge its impact on the market.

Our team is working diligently with our customers to prioritize shipments per their needs and objectives. Whenever possible, shippers should provide notifications showing delays ahead of scheduled loads. This allows GlobalTranz to notify the carrier/driver and work with the consignee to plan accordingly.

We continue to communicate with our carrier network to identify the best solutions for our customers’ needs.

The outlook for rates continues to be volatile for the foreseeable future.  This continues to be a rapidly evolving situation