Driven by international shipment and E-commerce gains, DHL opens up new Inland Empire facility

Express delivery and logistics services provider DHL recently announced it has moved its Southern California-based service center in Ontario to a larger location in order to meet increase growth it is seeing in international trade and e-commerce.

DHL invested $7 million into this new facility, which is located at 1651 S. Carlos Ave., which is comprised of 75,000 square-feet of building space, and 5,600 square-feet of office space. This new location is significantly larger than is previous location in this area, which was 39,000 square-feet.

It is located in California’s Inland Empire, which includes Riverside and San Bernadino counties and is the 13th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the U.S., according to data from the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce.  And it also noted that the Inland Empire saw air cargo moving into and out of the Ontario airport was up 15% in 2017.

“DHL’s expansion in Ontario is a direct reflection of our customers’ business growth, which has been bolstered by an uptick in international shipping, largely due to the rise of e-commerce,” said John Fox, General Manager for DHL, Western U.S., in a statement. “This strategic investment ensures our ability to meet the demands of local small and medium-sized businesses, while further supporting the development of global trade.”

A DHL spokeswoman told LM that the larger facility provides the capacity needed for DHL to grow with its customers, ensuring they continue to receive the highest levels of service from San Bernardino County to the 220 countries and territories it serves.

“The new facility enables us to operate more efficiently, given the additional warehouse space and new material handling equipment,” she said. “The larger DHL warehouse features additional dock doors and two conveyor belts that can process up to 3,000 pieces per hour [up from 1,000 pieces per hour.  The facility processes shipments ranging from documents and small parcels to palletized freight. The number of items that can be unloaded into the facility will double.” 

DHL has added 20 staffers to this new facility, with 100 now working there in various roles, including operations and sales managers, dock workers, office agents, and couriers.