Logistics are about to hit manufacturers’ pockets harder as DHL plans to hike prices in 2013.
The move was announced today and will see the average price rise by 4.9%. DHL Express said this increase takes into account inflation, industry-specific cost factors and investments in service.
In a statement from the company, the hike was attributed to factors such as general price inflation and regulatory measures such as additional security requirements.
It claimed: “The industry has absorbed costs in order to comply with these externally imposed requirements whilst ensuring that delivery times and service quality continued to improve.”
Ken Allen, chief executive of DHL Express, defended the decision: “The price increase is aimed at offsetting rising costs, including external costs that are out of our direct control and cannot be compensated through productivity improvements or economies of scale.
He added: “We are introducing our rate adjustment with a clear focus on maintaining our value proposition. Our annual price increase is an important factor in maintaining the significant investments we make in our global network, which offers world class delivery performance for the benefit of our customers.”
The price increase will come into force in January 1, 2013 and will impact on all customers where contracts allow. It follows a price increase of 3.5% last year.
According to the Consumer Price Index, the annual rate of inflation was 2.5% in August, down from 2.6% in July. Apart from two monthly rises, the rate of inflation has been falling steadily since peaking at 5.2% in September last year.
