Bucharest/Aschaffenburg, 04.06 2009 – As a result of the worldwide financial and economic crisis more and more companies are taking a critical look at their shipping and logistics policies. In the process road transport is becoming increasingly attractive for all those parcel shipments transported within Europe which would not be affected by an additional one or two days' delivery time. A highly efficient road network such as that operated by DPD enables fast parcel shipping at a cost which is up to five times below that of airfreight. In addition, the volume of greenhouse gases generated by road transport is up to eight times lower. The information portal whyflyparcels.com shows exactly why the benefits and attractions of parcel transport by road within Europe are growing in comparison with airfreight.
"In the economic crisis shifting parcel volumes from the air to the road doesn't just save companies money but also enables them to improve their carbon footprint considerably", says DPD (Pegasus) Romania CEO James Gray-Cheape. The international parcel and express service provider has calculated that by switching their inner-European parcel shipping from the air to the road, customers who are prepared to accept delivery times which are in most cases only slightly longer can reduce their transport costs by up to a factor of five. At the same time they can cut the greenhouse gases generated by their shipping operations by up to eight times.
DPD has created the internet portal www.whyflyparcels.com in order to demonstrate the direct connections between costs, emissions and modes of transport in the field of parcel shipping. Interested parties worldwide can find out all about the concept of a shift in modes of transport which is recommended by the experts. The data which is provided has been scientifically researched and processed by neutral experts, while the basic facts are presented in a transparent, easily understood manner.
The core of the website is the ECO Calculator, which was developed by experts using international data sources. It puts users in the position to calculate the individual CO2 impact of a shift in the way they ship their parcels.
For example, a company which ships ten parcels a month from Berlin to Birmingham can, by sending them by road instead of as airfreight, save the environment an annual emission volume of 1.7 tonnes of CO2. The portal illustrates these calculations by practical demonstrations. For example the emissions saved correspond to the volume emitted by 647 litres of diesel, while the energy equivalent would enable 3,408 60 W light bulbs to burn for 24 hours or fill 303,330 balloons with gas.
According to the data collected for whyflyparcels.com, within Europe 200 aircraft are used every day for the transport of express parcels. If only ten per cent of the shipments they transport were to be switched to the road this would make 20 aircraft a day superfluous and cut emissions of greenhouse gases by an annual 392,000 tones.
"If we look at these figures it's easy to understand why more and more customers are making use of the alternatives offered by DPD to express transport by airfreight ", comments James Gray-Cheape. DPD is the only major parcel and express service which does not use aircraft for the transport of shipments within Europe. He adds: "Our strategy is to consistently expand our road network, which is both economically and ecologically much more favorable than offering airfreight services."
About DPD
With the shipment of 2 million parcels a day in a seamless international network DPD is a leading international provider of express and parcel services. The DPD brand is represented throughout Europe and worldwide. DPD offers its customers a wide spectrum of domestic and international services, ranging from standard and express parcels via a wide spectrum of service options right across to solutions tailored specifically to customer requirements. At more than 500 depots in 40 countries a workforce numbering over 22,000 and 15,000 vehicles operate on behalf of 200,000 customers. The company's management is led by Arnold Schroven (CEO) and John Acton. France's GeoPost Group, a wholly-owned La Poste subsidiary, is the majority shareholder in DPD. The minority shareholders are DPD Systemlogistik GmbH & Co. KG (10.47 per cent shareholding) and DPD Zeitfracht GmbH & Co. KG (6.21 per cent shareholding).
About DPD (Pegasus) Romania
Pegasus was established in 1997, as the first company in Romania offering intra-city deliveries. In 2000, Pegasus became the appointed representative for Airborne Express (the third express and parcel operator in USA) and for
Aramex. Pegasus accomplished in 2003, its own domestic network that ensures delivery in 24 hours countrywide. In March 2008, GeoPost Yurtici Kargo acquired majority shareholding of Pegasus. Pegasus is currently the 4th largest local operator in Romania in the courier sector, with more than 500 employees, 74 depots, with the central hub in Sibiu, and delivering more than 8000 parcels every day. Pegasus has a 100% coverage of Romania and delivery in more than 220 countries worldwide. It has a market share of 10% domesticallly and 7% internationally with a turnover in 2008 of 7 million Euro.
About GeoPost
The GeoPost Group consolidates the Express service subsidiaries of the La Poste Group and is a major player in express services in Europe, as shown by its top ranking road transport network, DPD. GeoPost operates in over 230 countries on behalf of over 300,000 customers worldwide and is n°1 in France and n°2 at European level on the express parcel market with a consolidated turnover figure of 3.292 billion euros in 2008.
