DHL to hit US goals

Germany’s Deutsche Post still expects its DHL unit to meet its long-term goals in the United States despite a negative financial impact from the integration of its air operations at Wilmington, Ohio. The company said on Monday that although the September hub integration was a disappointment, the effects should not be enough to cause a long-term deviation from the division’s overall financial objectives. “Despite inevitable temporary setbacks, the progress being made in the U.S. leaves us confident that our overall strategy and direction are correct, and that long-term objectives can be met,” Deutsche Post said in a statement released at a capital markets presentation in New York and quoted by Reuters. The company added that “trading conditions remain competitively tough but relatively stable.” Deutsche Post earlier said DHL would break even in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2006 because of rules relating to Deutsche Post’s takeover of British logistics firm Exel. The unit had also previously said it expected to reduce losses in the U.S. to 300 million euros ($351 million) this year from about 500 million euros last year.