Flights from Christchurch and Auckland to Australia linked cargo to the DHL Express Melbourne-Hong Kong route, and the markets of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an aviation perspective, we don\u2019t really look at New Zealand in isolation,\u201d Dasanayake said.<\/p>\n
New Zealand fashion exporters included Trelise Cooper. <\/p>\n
In early November, DHL Express added two new \u201crotations\u201d or return flights on its Hong Kong-Melbourne route, adding an extra 75 tonnes of capacity a week.<\/p>\n
Last week another bonus rotation was added, and it will continue operating until two weeks before the end of the year.<\/p>\n
On these routes, the company used the Boeing 767, a widebody twinjet.<\/p>\n
Dasanayake said at this time of year, DHL also increased capacity on commercial aircraft.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use quite a lot of airlines, mainly Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines.\u201d<\/p>\n
The express mail service booked space with these airlines in advance.<\/p>\n
It had a standard location for its parcels on those aircraft but could then arrange more space at times of high demand.<\/p>\n
Around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, the top trade lanes for DHL\u2019s Kiwi consumers were expected to be Australia, the UK and the US.<\/p>\n
He said the New Zealand operation used to report to DHL Express in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe passed a certain threshold, which means we are a \u2018large country\u2019 now.\u201d<\/p>\n
That meant New Zealand was now an equal partner with other countries in the company\u2019s Apec (Asia-Pacific excluding China) division.<\/p>\n
The company has three global hubs. They\u2019re in Singapore, Cincinatti and Germany\u2019s Leipzig.<\/p>\n
\u201cDHL Group is our group of companies and within that group there are five different divisions. DHL Express happens to be one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dasanayake said the company was very busy during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you remember the early days of Covid, DHL was probably the only airline that flew. A lot of commercial flights were grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said those times were abnormally, unsustainably busy. <\/p>\n
Then things became quieter, but he said business was picking up now.<\/p>\n
Volumes in the first week of November this year were up 10% on the previous week, Dasanayake said.<\/p>\n
For the next fortnight, he expected volumes would be up 25%.<\/p>\n
The company also bolstered its road transport network, taking on more drivers.<\/p>\n
Drivers were contractors on either \u201cfixed\u201d or \u201cflexi\u201d arrangements.<\/p>\n
He said a lot of key moves around staffing and logistics the company was making now were planned in September.<\/p>\n
Dasanyake was upbeat about the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get the feeling that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASB economists today said New Zealand retail volumes lifted strongly in this year\u2019s third quarter, with the biggest increase since late 2021.<\/p>\n
The bank economists expected more strong growth in retail spending this quarter.<\/p>\n
ASB said yesterday\u2019s Official Cash Rate cut should filter through to lower mortgage rates and give relief to household budgets.<\/p>\n