DHL Express has seen imports from Asia to the Americas increase substantially as it helps battle COVID-19. Asian imports, coming primarily from China, are up 70% year-on-year, with DHL Express moving more than 168,000 shipments of masks, gloves, respirators, and disinfectant products into the Americas in just one week.
Air capacity has been reduced with airlines canceling flights, so DHL has increased its services, with additional flights and charters meeting the demand for PPE shipments.
The America’s hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport welcomed an extra flight to Canada to transport 45,000 shipments of masks and other items in April. Another flight from London was added and a Cincinnati-Los Angeles-Sydney-Singapore route was added using a Boeing 777 Freighter, bringing the total to seven flights a week.
DHL Express sent 10,000 shipments to the Americas via Miami, Florida, with 180,000 test kits going to Central America in March.
Miami has also benefitted from connections to Brussels, Belgium, offering 225 tons of capacity per week.
DHL Express is working with governments in Central America to transport equipment including 60 valves for digital respirators in Guatemala and test kits in Honduras.
In South America, the first 5,000 test kits arrived in Quito, Ecuador, two weeks ago followed by another 50,000 last week.
DHL Express donated 10,000 N95 protective masks to the Northwell Health network of hospitals and healthcare facilities across New York state.
The masks had been flown in from abroad via the DHL Express Gateway facility at New York’s John F Kennedy airport.
Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express Americas, said, “We’re open for business and our operations are being mobilized around the world to deal with this global crisis. We have been largely focused on bringing the much-needed supplies to protect and support frontline employees from all industries, particularly the medical professionals and first responders who continue fighting to keep us safe and essential businesses running.”