A look at DHL’s processing warehouse as holiday shipping ramps up

We’re into the busiest period for holiday shipping, and KIRO 7′s Ranji Sinha talked with DHL to get some perspective on how busy things are.

“Chances are if you’re ordering a gift from somewhere, any different parts of the world, it’s going to be delivered by DHL,” said Scott Grant, a DHL manager.

Grant isn’t Santa, but he’s about to be as busy as the holidays’ most famous delivery staffer. The weeks after Thanksgiving are the busiest, and DHL expects volume well above average.

“We’re about 30% heavier right now than we would have been just before Thanksgiving,” Grant said.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also plays a key role for DHL. The airport has shown no signs of slowing down for weeks, and early shoppers increased volume beyond the normal weeks.

It’s not just DHL — USPS is also in overdrive. The postal service said it completed the installation of 137 new package sorting machines across its network, which will expand daily package processing capacity to 60 million during this holiday season.

Major shipping deadlines for delivery are just a few days away, and people need to act soon.

USPS said for delivery by Christmas, the deadline for ground service is Saturday, Dec. 17. The deadline for priority mail is Monday, Dec. 19.

With staffing concerns across many industries, UPS actually streamlined the hiring process for 100,000 seasonal openings. The company says its last day to ship second-day air is Dec. 21, while its last day for next-day service is Dec. 22.

Those deadlines are being echoed by DHL, with officials at Sea-Tac Airport saying shipping needs to happen in the next few days for delivery guarantees.

“Probably better do it now!” said Grant.

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