DHL Express (DHLE), a leading Express logistics service provider says its business has crossed pre-pandemic levels. Speaking to BusinessLine, RS Subramanian, MD and Senior VP, DHLE said that while between April and May there was a slowdown when the Covid wave as its peak, the last three-to-four months there has been a sharp rebound.

Stating that overall growth was good, DHLE said that it is seeing logistics demand picking up from quite a few industries including engineering, automation, e-commerce, life sciences and pharma, fashion with both small and medium enterprises (SME), as well as large companies participating in it.

Economic health

However, he cautioned about extrapolating that as an indicator of what is happening in the economy by saying, “It is true there is significant demand but there is no capacity. For Express, 30 per cent plus pre-pandemic supply used to be from belly space of passenger airlines. That has not fully come back. There is capacity pressure. So while our growth is an indicator of the direction of the economy, it may not necessarily reflect the overall health of the economy.”

Also read: Domestic travel sees a rise of 300 per cent from pre-Covid period

The company said international trade volumes from South India have grown by almost 80 per cent in the last three years, of which the growth from Bengaluru alone is over 50 per cent during this period. Subramanian said that over the last decade, there has been more than five times growth in volume from Bengaluru.

To support this high growth potential, DHLE is expanding its infrastructure investments in the market through the expansion of its ‘Bengaluru Gateway’, he added. The new facility is 1,12,000 sq ft adjacent to the Bengaluru International Airport.

“With this, we will be able to handle shipments of approximately 50 thousand tons per year which is the highest volume that can be handled by any courier terminal in the country, at present. Earlier, 10 dedicated DHLE’s flights would land and take off every week and by November, the numbers would be 17 flights landing and 17 taking off, underscoring the growth potential here. More importantly, it will save our customers 12-24 hours in transit time which is very big in the air freight industry,” Subramanian said.

Also read: Consumer shopping sentiment at its highest: Survey

DHLE would be investing ₹200 crore in the new facility which would be spread over several years, he added.

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