- Dedicated route will connect Melbourne to Auckland and Christchurch five nights a week
- Launch follows 49% growth in Melbourne-New Zealand shipment volumes in the past year
DHL Express has launched a five nights a week direct freighter service connecting Melbourne, Auckland and Christchurch, amid the cities’ growing demand for time definite international services.
The dedicated freighter will provide a further 19 tons of freight capacity for businesses trading between the two countries. New Zealand is Australia’s third largest major export destination after China and the United States, accounting for 7.6% of total state exports.
Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific, said: “In the past six months, DHL Express has seen a massive growth in shipment volumes going in and out of the Oceania region. We have increased the number of dedicated flights to and from Australia from 10 per week before the pandemic, to around 30 regular services now.
“As we move closer to a vaccine for Covid-19, we are confident that the region’s economy will bounce back stronger than before and this new dedicated service between Australia and New Zealand will provide much needed capacity to accelerate the recovery.”
The service allows businesses to book in their shipments for courier pick-up later in the business day. The cut-off time for shipment collection in the Melbourne CBD area is 6.00pm, which is an hour later than the current market offering.
Gary Edstein, CEO and Senior Vice President, DHL Express Oceania said: “We are pleased to launch this new dedicated freighter service to further connect Australian and New Zealand businesses.
“With its reliable and fast transit time, the service will bring the two countries closer together and enable greater efficiencies by reducing supply chain costs and easing traditional barriers to market entry for small businesses, such as the need for in-country warehousing and distribution centres.
“In the 12 months to date, we’ve experienced Melbourne to New Zealand shipment volumes grow at a rate of 49% and this service reaffirms our commitment to supporting trade across the Tasman.”
Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Martin Pakula, said: “The Victorian Government welcomes DHL Express’ commitment to this new service which will strengthen the connection between Victorian and New Zealand businesses.
“This new dedicated route will support business growth across the state, with faster delivery and more efficient freight times for trans-Tasman trade.”
The service further bolsters DHL’s existing trans-Tasman express delivery capabilities, supporting the upgraded Auckland to Sydney Boeing 767-300F freighter service launched in 2018.
DHL’s latest trans-Tasman investment follows the AU$20m (€14m) infrastructure upgrade to the company’s Melbourne Gateway facility in 2015, the NZ$15.3m (€9.9m) upgrade to its Auckland Gateway facility in 2016, and the NZ$1.73m investment on the new Auckland Service Centre in 2019.
