Dispute between DHL and US competitors intensifies
The dispute between DHL, the express delivery service owned by Deutsche Post, the German postal service, and its US competitors FedEx and UPS has intensified. UPS and FedEx have accused DHL of having exclusive agreements with two US airlines, Astar and ABX Air, and of controlling these two airlines. However, the two US delivery companies have now been accused of hypocrisy by those in the sector, who claim that their practices in Europe mirror those of DHL in the US: UPS has an exclusive agreement with Danish airline Star Air, while FedEx controls the German airline Express Airways.
DHL’s contracts with Astar and ABX Air are currently being investigated, and an administrative court in the US is to make a recommendation to the US ministry of transport, which will then reach a decision, at the beginning of January. It is suspected that UPS and FedEx merely wish to keep DHL out of the market for express services in the US.
