If you‘ve ever anxiously tracked a DHL shipment as it slowly made its way to you, you‘ve probably found yourself wondering: Why does DHL take so long?! The global logistics company offers an array of shipping services with delivery times ranging anywhere from 1 to 20 days depending on the origin, destination, and service level you choose. But even when you pay extra for expedited shipping, it can still feel like your DHL package is taking forever to arrive.
As an avid online shopper myself, I‘ve had my fair share of frustrating experiences waiting for DHL deliveries. Curiosity (and impatience) drove me to dig deeper and uncover the real reasons behind DHL‘s sometimes sluggish delivery times. In this article, I‘ll share expert insights into 11 key factors that can cause DHL shipping delays.
While this inside knowledge may not make your package magically appear on your doorstep any faster, it will give you a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes of the intricate world of logistics and what can derail even the best-laid shipping plans. So the next time you find yourself pacing by the window waiting for the DHL truck to arrive, at least you‘ll know why your package is taking its sweet time to get to you!
11 Reasons for DHL Shipping Delays
1. International customs clearance
One of the biggest reasons for holdups with DHL shipments is customs clearance for packages crossing international borders. As a major worldwide shipper, DHL deals with getting thousands of shipments through customs each day. But this is a complex process and packages can get held up for days or even weeks if there are any issues.
Customs officials may need to inspect the contents, verify the declared value matches the actual value, confirm the package contains no prohibited items, and collect any applicable duties and taxes owed. If any information or documentation is missing or incorrect, that can further delay the process. Certain countries are notorious for long customs clearance times (cough Brazil cough).
While these delays are largely outside of DHL‘s control, the company does offer premium services with expedited customs clearance for time-sensitive shipments. But for most standard shipments, customs delays are just an unavoidable reality of international shipping.
2. Handoffs to local postal services
Another factor many people don‘t realize is that DHL often contracts with local postal services to handle the "last mile" delivery to the end recipient. So even though you bought DHL shipping, the final delivery of your package to your door may actually be completed by your local mail carrier.
In the U.S., DHL eCommerce hands off nearly all of its packages to the United States Postal Service (USPS). This partnership allows DHL to save money and resources, but it does add extra transit time compared to DHL handling the entire journey itself. Your package has to be transported to the post office, processed and sorted there, and then sent out again for final delivery, adding a day or two in transit.
3. Fewer U.S. distribution centers
While DHL has an extensive network across Europe and Asia, its footprint in the U.S. is much smaller compared to rivals like UPS and FedEx. This means DHL shipments within the U.S. often have to travel much farther to reach the recipient since there are fewer distribution centers to route packages through.
For example, if you‘re shipping from New York to Los Angeles, your DHL package will likely have to go through major hubs in Cincinnati and Los Angeles before reaching its final destination. With UPS or FedEx, there would be more hubs in between to process the package along the way. Fewer touchpoints mean longer stretches in transit, which can translate to slower overall shipping times.
4. Inclement weather and natural disasters
DHL‘s vast transportation network is still at the mercy of Mother Nature. Severe weather events and natural disasters can force DHL to delay or reroute shipments. Planes can‘t take off in snowstorms, trucks can‘t drive on flooded roads, and wildfires can close down major highways.
Every year, we see news reports of hurricanes, blizzards, tornados, and other catastrophic events disrupting delivery services. While DHL has contingency plans to minimize shipment disruptions, some delays are simply unavoidable when the weather turns ugly. This is true for all shipping carriers, not just DHL.
5. Lost and damaged packages
With the sheer volume of packages that DHL handles each day, it‘s inevitable that some will get lost or damaged in transit, leading to lengthy delays. If a package is misplaced, it can take days or weeks for DHL to track it down. If it‘s damaged, the shipper will have to send a replacement, restarting the whole shipping process from square one.
While DHL has a good track record overall, mistakes still happen. I once had a DHL package go missing for over a month after it was misloaded onto the wrong plane. While DHL did eventually find it, the lengthy delay was immensely frustrating. In some cases, DHL may even have to reimburse the shipper for the full value of the lost contents and shipping costs.
6. Transportation issues and accidents
We‘ve all gotten stuck behind a delivery truck lumbering slowly in the right lane. Now imagine if that truck breaks down or gets into an accident – your package could be stuck on the side of the road for hours or days! Vehicle issues are an unavoidable risk in the transportation business.
Even with regular fleet maintenance, DHL‘s trucks and planes can still experience unexpected mechanical problems. Flat tires, dead batteries, failed engines, and more can take vehicles out of commission until repairs are made. Traffic accidents are another threat, and a severe crash could even harm the packages on board. When these disruptions occur, DHL has to scramble to retrieve delayed shipments and find alternative routes, but it‘s not always a quick process.
7. Staffing challenges and labor shortages
The logistics industry has notoriously high employee turnover, and DHL is no exception. Worker shortages have become an even bigger challenge in recent years. When hubs are short-staffed, it leads to backlogs in sorting and routing packages.
Driver shortages can mean packages get stuck waiting for a driver to become available to take them on the next leg of the journey. Shorthanded customs brokerage offices can mean longer processing times. Even before the pandemic, finding and retaining quality employees was a constant challenge for logistics companies. Now, the problem has magnified, and shipping delays have increased as a result.
8. COVID-19 impacts on shipping
Speaking of the pandemic, COVID-19 has caused major ongoing disruptions to global shipping that have stretched delivery times and exacerbated delays. Supply chain disruptions, worker illnesses and quarantines, social distancing protocols, and the huge influx of e-commerce orders have all put a major strain on shipping carriers.
DHL saw parcel volumes increase over 35% in 2020 as consumers turned to online shopping in droves. At the same time, the company faced worker shortages with employees out sick, quarantining, or simply quitting over COVID concerns. Outbreaks caused DHL to temporarily close some facilities for deep cleaning, creating backlogs.
New no-contact delivery protocols and PPE requirements also slowed down operations. And constantly changing lockdown restrictions around the world meant routine service disruptions. While shipping carriers have adapted their operations, the pandemic has had lasting impacts on the logistics industry and delays have become more frequent.
9. Sellers delays in shipping
Sometimes the reason for a delayed DHL delivery has nothing to do with DHL itself. In many cases, the seller you bought from simply took too long to ship the order in the first place. DHL can‘t do anything until it actually has possession of the package from the sender.
This is a common problem with some online marketplaces where small businesses may need time to actually make or customize products to order before shipping. An Etsy seller who hand-knits sweaters to order might not be able to ship for a week or two based on the current order queue. Other sellers might face inventory shortages or supply chain issues in getting the items ready to ship.
If your DHL tracking hasn‘t updated in over a week since the seller provided the tracking number, that‘s a good sign they haven‘t actually handed off the package yet. Follow up with the seller for an update on when they will ship. You may need to decide whether it‘s worth continuing to wait or if you want to cancel the order.
10. Incorrect or incomplete addresses
The most critical piece of information on any shipping label is the recipient‘s address. If the seller ships your order to the wrong address, it can cause major delays as DHL attempts to sort out the mistake. Packages with incorrect or incomplete addresses are often returned to the sender as undeliverable.
Other times, the local post office or mail carrier will determine the correct address and reroute the package. Either way, your delivery ends up delayed by days or even weeks. Even something as simple as a missing apartment number can derail a delivery.
Before completing your order, always double check that your shipping address is correct and contains all the necessary information. It‘s better to take a few extra seconds to confirm the details than to have to deal with the time and hassle of a returned package.
11. Signature requirements causing missed deliveries
If your DHL shipment requires a signature for delivery, then someone needs to be available to sign for the package in person. If the driver attempts delivery and no one is there to sign, DHL will hold the package and retry delivery at a later date – perhaps the next day or perhaps several days later depending on the route schedule.
After three failed delivery attempts, DHL will usually hold the package at a local facility for you to pick up in person within a certain number of days. If you don‘t make arrangements to get the package, it will be returned to sender as undeliverable. Either way, a signature requirement can add days of delays if you aren‘t able to be available to sign for it on the first delivery attempt.
To avoid this situation, make sure to track your package closely and try to be available on the estimated delivery date. If you know you won‘t be home, see if a neighbor or building manager can sign for the package on your behalf. As a last resort, contact DHL to see if you can waive the signature and accept the liability for the delivery.
The Bottom Line on DHL Delivery Times
When everything goes perfectly, DHL provides speedy and reliable shipping around the globe. But the reality is that any number of factors we‘ve covered here can pop up to cause frustrating delays. Between customs holdups, transportation issues, handoffs to local carriers, mis-shipped packages, labor shortages, and pandemic disruptions, it‘s actually quite common for DHL shipments to take longer than expected.
Some of these issues are within DHL‘s control to improve, while others are simply the reality of the complex world of logistics. Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes and why your DHL package can seem to take forever to make its way to you. While it may not ease the sting of checking your tracking for the 100th time only to see no movement, at least you‘ll have more insight into what might be happening.
The best advice I can give to avoid DHL shipping delays is to plan ahead when possible. Don‘t wait until the last minute to order something you need. Pay for expedited shipping if the item is truly urgent. And avoid ordering from sellers or countries known for lengthy shipping times. With a little preparation and a lot of patience, you can survive the sometimes agonizing wait for your treasures to arrive from around the world via DHL.
