As a firmer DHL driver, it sounds like they are just expanding the DHL@home service started by Airborne Express and the USPS about 8 years ago. DHL handles the pickup, transit, sorting and then delivers the package to the addressee’s post office for postal delivery. If that is 10 packages a day to the post office, that is 10 less deliveries the driver has to make which equals savings for DHL and the shipper. In some rural areas it may be 30 mins between deliveries because of milage and that causes problems with time and wastes gas when the postal service is going there anyway. Sounds like someone just went into panic over this.
Now starting late this year or next year I believe, all DHL shipments will actually be sorted and shipped via UPS, DHL will only handle the actual pickup and delivery. More money for UPS, savings for DHL customers. Bad news is Astar and ABX, the 2 companies who own the aircraft and fly the freight, plus the Wilmington/Airborne Airpark airport which is owned and operated by ABX are screwed. Since DHL is foreign owned they can’t own or run the aircraft like UPS and FedEx can.
Actually, DHL owns the airport at Wilmington. And, last we heard, they were going to run a day-sort truck hub on that property. ABX has leased some of the hangar space from DHL, but that is all up in the air, at this point.
Fuel Costs? That’s a part of the issue, but not nearly all of it...IMO.