17 Nov 2011

International parcel volumes up by more than a quarter

8:35 am on 17 November 2011

A freight and logistics firm says a pickup in online shopping, helped by the high New Zealand dollar, has helped to push up international parcel volumes by more than a quarter.

DHL Express New Zealand's national sales manager Phil Corcoran says inbound package volumes have risen more than 26% between March and September.

Mr Corcoran says the speed and usability of the internet has evolved and this, coupled with the high New Zealand dollar, has given people access to new markets.

He says most of the growth is being driven by packages being sent from online retailers based in the US but there are also more being sent from China and the UK.

Mr Corcoran says he's not expecting the growth to slow down because the indications are the dollar will remain fairly high for a good period.

He says so far the company has had to put on five extra couriers and in Australia, which also has a strong dollar, they have added an additional 40 couriers.