The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced a landmark $10 billion agreement to offer ‘last-mile’ package delivery services for DHL eCommerce, a division of the German logistics giant DHL.
In December, the USPS revealed plans to extend its last-mile delivery network to accommodate both large and small shippers, moving beyond existing partnerships with companies like Amazon and UPS. The term ‘last-mile delivery’ describes the crucial final stage of delivering a package from a local distribution facility directly to the customer’s doorstep. This step is widely regarded as the most labor-intensive in the delivery sequence.
Postmaster General David Steiner underscored the USPS’s capacity to handle such demands, citing their extensive network reaching 170 million locations six days a week. ‘We are the best last-mile provider by default,’ Steiner remarked during a call with the press. ‘For us, this is about addressing customers’ needs where they are.’
The agreement between USPS and DHL is set as a multi-year collaboration, though detailed specifics have yet to be disclosed. Under Steiner’s leadership, the USPS has sought to expand its revenue streams. In March, Steiner highlighted the financial urgency facing the postal service, warning that insolvency loomed within a year if Congress did not remove the longstanding borrowing cap.
According to Scott Ashbaugh, CEO of DHL eCommerce Americas, this partnership will bolster DHL eCommerce’s growth across the U.S. ‘Collaborating with USPS allows us to efficiently serve communities nationwide, reducing the need for additional vehicles and supporting our efforts to curb emissions,’ Ashbaugh stated.