UPS, DHL reduce feeder routes in US

UPS and DHL are scaling back their short-haul capacity in the United States, leaving regional freighter service providers scrambling for new business. “We have been kind of sitting on our hands for the past year, as both UPS and DHL have canceled a total of six contracted routes, and it looks like more — after the first of the year — have potential,” Milwaukee, Wisc.-based Air Cargo Carriers Chairman Jim Germek told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57294246" align="aligncenter" width="779"] Alpine holds the STC for the Beech 19000D conversion. (Courtesy/Air Charter Service)[/caption] The decision from the express companies to cancel additional routes could come at any time, Germek said. “DHL has cut way back on all feeder aircraft and I don’t think they will ever upgrade in the U.S. market,” he said. Similarly, Provo, Utah-based Part 135 operator Alpine Air Express has repositioned aircraft previously assigned to DHL to provide support for new customers, Chief Executive Michael Dancy told Cargo Facts . “We saw the complete shutdown of DHL runs in 2024,” Dancy said. On the other hand, he said, “UPS has refined, revised and consolidated a few runs, with only a small number of UPS runs being eliminated.” Air Cargo Carriers and Alpine will continue to navigate new opportunities for their turboprop freighter fleets as DHL and UPS streamline costs. Feeder fleet Alpine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alpine Aviation. The regional carrier has provided lift capacity for DHL, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service for more than twenty years through its cargo hubs in Billings, Mont. (BIL), Salt Lake City (SLC), Denver (DEN) and Sioux City, Iowa (SUX). It operates three Beech aircraft variants: Thirty-three Beech 1900Ds, for which it holds the conversion STC ; Twenty-seven Beech 1900Cs; and Fifteen Beech 99s. Air Cargo Carriers operates twenty-six Short 360 freighters, making it the largest operator of the type. It also owns the freighter conversion STC for the Short 360s. In addition to supporting DHL, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service with regional feeder service, Air Cargo Carriers offers scheduled and charter freighter services throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. Capacity reduction strategy UPS will continue to evaluate the market and adjust its strategy to the industry’s changing volume trends, it told Cargo Facts . The decision to reduce the number of short-haul cargo routes in the U.S. aligns with UPS’ Network of the Future initiative, launched in 2024, through which the company will transform its operational infrastructure with digital technology while reducing its industry capacity. There is $12 million in excess average daily volume (ADV) capacity in the market, and the market equilibrium is around 6%, approximately $6 million, Chief Executive Carol Tome said during UPS’ first-quarter earnings call in March 2024. ADV capacity is the average amount of air cargo that an airline or the industry as a whole transports per day over a specific period. UPS was hoping to absorb the excess ADV capacity in 2025, Tome said during the call. Low demand for small packages in the U.S. contributed to UPS’ decision to lay off 20,000 employees and decrease its Amazon ADV by 50% in 2026. With express demand facing uncertainty, DHL took a similar approach in 2024, introducing its Fit for Growth restructure plan to reduce the group’s $1.2 billion cost base by 2027, according to its Q4 2024 earnings report released in March 2025. One of the Fit for Growth initiatives was increasing the efficiency of its partner airline network, DHL Group Chief Executive Tobias Meyer said in a March 6, 2025, interview published by the company. DHL Express decreased its global lift capacity by 5% in 2025, dissolving its Polar Air joint venture with Atlas Air Worldwide and halting ACMI service with Latvia-based SmartLynx before the carrier exited the freighter market . Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in the first half of 2026, starting with Cargo Facts LATAM, on Feb. 10-12. Register for Cargo Facts LATAM by Jan. 9 to take advantage of early-bird pricing. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com .

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