DHL Global Forwarding enhances LCL expedited services

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, has enhanced its less-than-container-load (LCL) expedited service for U.S. customers, the company said this week.

The upgraded service offers faster LCL service by using expedited trucking and faster sailings on certain trade lanes to provide faster transit times for customers, officials said. The service is also part of DHL’s efforts to accommodate a growing need to transport critical shipments during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Launched in 2007, the service sought to connect major hubs in Asia-Pacific to the United States. DHL said it is now offering the service for U.S. import lanes via the majority of transportation hubs in Asia-Pacific and Europe to Los Angeles and New York.

“Innovative services like these respond to the current challenges our customers are facing in the midst of the pandemic,” David Goldberg, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding U.S., said in a statement announcing the upgraded service. “This expedited solution has been extremely successful and valuable in the rapid transportation of urgent medical shipments from China to the U.S. in just 13-17 days, and we look forward to [offering] this as another solution to our customers.”

Company officials said the upgraded service reduces transit times by 14 days compared to standard LCL service from Shanghai to the U.S. East Coast. Service improvements include: two-day Container Freight Station (CFS) dwell time in Shanghai and one-day LCL cargo turnaround from vessel arrival to CFS availability and departure in Los Angeles, as well as express delivery from Los Angeles and New York to any continental U.S. destination within three to five days. Additionally, the service now also connects Yantian, South China, to Los Angeles, U.S., with port to port transit time of 12 days.