DHL Express rolls out a 5.9% general rate increase for 2022, for U.S. shippers

Late last week, global express delivery and logistics services provider DHL Express rolled out its annual United States rate hike.

The company said that it will implement a 5.9% general average shipment price increase for United States-based customers, which will go into effect on January 1, 2022, and it added that some optional services and surcharges will also head up. Specific details, regarding the pending rate hike, were not made available, with the company saying that a guide to the 2022 rates will be published when it is made available.

“Prices are adjusted on an annual basis by DHL Express, taking into consideration inflation and currency dynamics as well as administrative costs related to regulatory and security measures,” the company said in a statement. “These measures are being regularly updated by national and international authorities in each of the more than 220 countries and territories that DHL Express serves. Depending on local conditions, price adjustments will vary from country to country, and will apply to all customers where contracts allow. The adjustment also allows the company to further invest in its infrastructure network and strengthen the resilience against crises and provide the needed capacity growth due to rising customer demands.”

This announced price increase matches a 5.9% increase recently announced by Memphis-based FedEx, whose rates are set to increase on January 3, 2022.

At that time, Jerry Hempstead, president of Hempstead Consulting, said that it would be imprudent for a shipper to budget a 5.9% increase in parcel costs for 2022 based on the FedEx GRI announcement.

“In most cases the impact will be far greater than that,” he said. “This is the largest increase in recent memory. There will also be changes to most of the surcharges on January 3, but a change will be made to the Additional Handling surcharge on January 24 to mirror the direction UPS has already taken to make the determination of the surcharged based on destination zone.”

What’s more, he noted that the increases are nonlinear, as not all rates and zone cells are going up 5.9%.

Addressing DHL’s announcement, Hempstead said that while DHL will also take a 5.9% rate increase, on average, he said that DHL did not yet post its tariff or service guide.

“The devil is in the details,” he observed. “My guess is they will wait until after UPS announces to see what they do and then adjust if need be. They too are full so they can be bold in what they ask for as well.” 

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, DHL Americas CEO Mike Parra cited various factors for the pending rate increase, including being able to cover general inflation increases, in addition to added infrastructure such as planes, trucks, and facilities.

A parcel sector observer told LM that it is very likely that the actual increase for particular zones, weights and accessorials will be far greater than 5.9%. 

“The carriers always publish an ‘average’ rate increase, which makes the stated increase look more innocuous than reality,” he said.