Analysis and Strategies for the DHL Canada Work Stoppage

Recently, DHL Express Canada announced a nationwide shutdown due to the breakdown of labor-management negotiations, triggering a chain reaction in the global cross-border logistics chain. It stopped accepting all packages in and out of Canada from 9 pm on June 17, and completely stopped all operations on the evening of June 20. At the same time, Canada Post also faced service cuts due to labor-management conflicts. This series of events has brought a lot of uncertainty to the global cross-border logistics chain, and we are well aware that this has caused you great trouble and worry.

As a professional international order fulfillment service provider, Chinadivision is closely following the development of the situation and has launched an emergency fulfillment and transshipment mechanism to ensure that customer goods are still efficiently and safely delivered in an uncertain environment.

The latest developments of the DHL Canada Work Stoppage

The cause of the shutdown: DHL and Unifor, a union representing 2,100 employees, broke down negotiations involving salary structure, working conditions, monitoring disputes and other issues.

Time node: Suspend the acceptance of parcels in and out of Canada from June 17, and suspend all operations indefinitely from midnight on June 20 (including domestic and Canada-US international routes).

New law promotes suspension of operations: From June 20, Canada's "Bill C-58" prohibits the use of replacement workers during strikes, and violators will be fined 100,000 Canadian dollars a day. DHL therefore announced a full suspension of Canadian operations.

Superimposed impact of Canada Post strike

The labor-capital conflict between Canada Post and 55,000 workers is still ongoing. The union has implemented an overtime ban, resulting in further reductions in parcel services.

Under the superposition of the double strike, the overall logistics industry in Canada is facing tremendous pressure, and the efficiency of parcel delivery has been greatly reduced.

In-depth analysis of the impact of the incident

Logistics service stagnation

The suspension of DHL's Canadian business has caused all parcel deliveries in and out of Canada to stagnate. Customers who originally relied on DHL's efficient logistics services face the risk of delays, backlogs, or even failure to deliver their parcels on time. This is particularly serious for products with high timeliness requirements, such as electronic products and fashion apparel.

E-commerce platforms are impacted

Many e-commerce platforms that rely on DHL for delivery are the first to be affected. For cross-border e-commerce giants such as Temu and SHEIN, the transportation time of a large number of goods shipped from China and other places to Canada will be greatly reduced. Customer complaints and return rates have increased, which in turn affects its reputation and business growth in the Canadian market.

Industry chain reaction

DHL's shutdown in Canada has had an impact on the entire Canadian express delivery market. The strike has caused an imbalance in supply and demand in the logistics market. Some customers who originally chose DHL have turned to other express delivery companies. The business volume of UPS and FedEx has increased dramatically. These companies have to take measures such as levying "surcharges" and adjusting operating strategies to cope with it, which undoubtedly increases the logistics costs of merchants and consumers. At the same time, the labor-capital conflict between Canada Post and 55,000 workers is still ongoing. The postal union has implemented an overtime ban last month, resulting in a reduction in parcel services. Under the combined influence of the two, the overall logistics industry in Canada is facing tremendous pressure, and the efficiency of parcel delivery has been greatly reduced.

Chain impact on cross-border sellers

Logistics chain break: DHL accounts for more than 30% of Canada's international express market share. The suspension of operations has led to a backlog of cross-border packages and a time delay of more than 7-15 days.

Cost surge: The remaining logistics providers (UPS/FedEx) have imposed high surcharges due to the surge in demand, and the freight rate has increased by 30%-50%.

Customer trust crisis: The return rate may rise by 20%, and brands such as Lululemon have warned of sales losses.

Customs clearance risk: DHL has suspended the import of international packages, and some goods are stranded at the customs and face storage fines.

Chinadivision's response strategy and solution

As an experienced third-party international order fulfillment service provider, Chinadivision has developed the following emergency response plans for customers:

Diversified logistics channel guarantee

Avoid relying solely on DHL Express to deliver Canadian goods. We quickly launched an emergency plan, integrated global logistics resources, and opened up diversified logistics channels for you. In addition to traditional express delivery channels, we have also strengthened cooperation with many internationally renowned logistics companies, such as FedEx and UPS, to ensure that your goods can enter and exit Canada smoothly. At the same time, we actively expand multimodal transport modes such as sea and land transport, and tailor the best logistics solutions for you according to the characteristics of your goods and timeliness requirements.

Intelligent inventory management optimization

With the help of advanced inventory management systems, we monitor the inventory dynamics of warehouses around the world in real time. For the Canadian market, we reserve a certain amount of popular commodity inventory in warehouses in other parts of North America in advance. Once Canadian logistics is restored, we can quickly allocate goods to reduce your inventory backlog risk. At the same time, we provide you with accurate inventory forecasting services to help you arrange procurement plans reasonably and avoid losses caused by insufficient or excessive inventory.

Full-process visual tracking service

We are well aware of your concern about the transportation status of goods, so we have strengthened the full-process visual tracking service. No matter what channel your goods are transported through, you can view the location, status and estimated arrival time of the goods in real time on our platform. Once an abnormal situation occurs, our professional customer service team will communicate with you as soon as possible and provide solutions.

Professional customer service team support

Our customer service team is online 24/7 to answer your questions and handle problems at any time. Whether it is logistics consultation, order tracking or abnormal situation handling, we can provide you with professional and efficient services. At the same time, we regularly push information about logistics industry trends and policy changes to you to help you adjust your logistics strategy in a timely manner.

Work together to overcome difficulties

The DHL Canada shutdown incident is a complex labor dispute. New regulations have exacerbated this problem, resulting in large-scale disruptions in domestic and international package delivery. We are well aware that this Canadian logistics shutdown has caused you a lot of inconvenience, but please believe that Chinadivision is always your trusted partner. We promise to do our best to ensure the safety and on-time delivery of your goods and minimize the impact of this incident on your business.

If you have any questions or need further help, please feel free to contact us. Let us work together to overcome difficulties and jointly meet cross-border logistics challenges!

FAQs for e-commerce sellers

What should I do with orders currently shipped to Canada using DHL?

Contact Chinadivision customer service immediately, and we will switch you to an available logistics channel to avoid package backlogs.

Will it affect the delivery of major promotions such as Prime Day and back-to-school season?

Prepare goods in overseas warehouses in advance, or use Chinadivision's intelligent fulfillment system to ensure stable fulfillment during peak periods.