DHL looks to contract with ABX, ASTAR as UPS deal may fail

EXPRESS freight forwarder DHL has recommenced talks with its existing cargo carriers ABX Air and ASTAR Air Cargo, after an agreement to negotiate exclusively with United Parcel Service expired at the end of January, according to DHL spokesman Jonathan Baker.

This comes as DHL has been attempting to hire rival UPS to sort and fly DHL packages in the United States, to turnaround its loss-making domestic operation.

When that period ended, we began talking with other potential partners, Mr Baker was quoted as saying in a report by Dayton Daily News. He said ABX Air and ASTAR Air Cargo are among those, along with UPS.

The report raised the possibility that in the event DHL fails to reach an agreement with UPS, ABX and ASTAR may be chosen to continue transporting DHL cargo from its US freight hub at Wilmington, Ohio.

DHL has let us know they believe they will now need us through September to keep doing what we are doing. That is the only definite information we have from them, ABX Air spokeswoman Beth Huber said at the end of last week.

She said it is "unclear what role ABX will be allowed to fill after that."

DHL is ABX's biggest customer. Thousands of jobs have been cut at DHL's Wilmington hub, the region's largest employer, since DHL's announcement last year that it is cutting its US delivery network to reduce its US$1 billion annual losses in its domestic market.

Ms Huber added that ABX Air last week gave notice that it is making an additional 58 employees redundant by the end of March. Before that notice, ABX Air's Wilmington employment was slightly under 3,000, which is the bulk of its total work force of 3,300 employees.

Source: Schednet