The express delivery service provider DHL announced it is following its competitors, by raising its rates by 2.9% beginning Feb. 4.
The news came on the same day that FedEx announced it will expand its services.
DHL officials say they will use the money from the increase and a fuel surcharge it instituted last year to upgrade its fleet
Meanwhile, FedEx, which has been on a roll since announcing last year it will buy less-than-truckload carrier Arkansas Freightways, says it will offer later times for shipping packages. The new service, FedEx Extra Hours, will allow selected customers with regularly scheduled pick-ups and customers who drop off shipments to extend their business day by up to three hours in 90 major domestic markets beginning Feb. 26.
News of the DHL rate increases follow a December announcement by UPS that it will raise rates for its commercial ground services 3.1% starting Feb. 5, 2001. Air express rates will go up 3.7 percent, international export rates will increase 2.9%, and the company will boost its residential surcharge from $1 per package to $1.05 per package. A temporary 1.25 percent fuel surcharge, implemented last August, will remain in effect.
FedEx Express also announced in December that it will increase domestic rates by nearly 5 percent beginning Feb. 1. FedEx Express last adjusted rates in 1999.