The Conversation - JOHN PEARSON, GLOBAL CEO, DHL EXPRESS

WITH €24.9 BILLION REVENUES, THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPRESS SERVICE PROVIDER, DHL EXPRESS, IS THE BIGGEST DIVISION WITHIN THE €81.8 BILLION LOGISTICS GIANT DHL GROUP. ITS MAIN PRODUCT, TIME DEFINITE INTERNATIONAL, A CROSS-BORDER TRANSPORT AND DELIVERY SERVICE WITH PREDEFINED, STANDARDISED TRANSIT TIMES TRANSPORTED AROUND 288 MILLION SHIPMENTS IN 2023. JOHN PEARSON, GLOBAL CEO, DHL EXPRESS, EXPLAINS GLOBAL TRENDS IN LOGISTICS AND WHY IT IS TOO EARLY TO RULE OUT GROWTH OF GLOBAL TRADE. INTERVIEW BY JOE C. MATHEW

- JOHN PEARSON

COVID & GLOBALISATION

Pandemic-triggered economic pangs are far from over. Many countries are under recession, some are turning protectionist, while some are facing geopolitical conflicts. As a global logistics player, how do you assess the situation? Is globalisation on the back foot?

The world has gone through quite a change since Covid. Inflation, rising energy prices, change in behaviour of markets, etc, are making it challenging for many global companies. As a result, global trade and economy are weaker than before. But it’s a cyclical thing and we will emerge out of it. We have been in India for 37 years and have seen a number of these (global economic cycles). And there are bright spots even within that. India is one such spot, growing in double digits. DHL is present in 220 markets. There is always some region, some industry or some country that is growing well. We see that in India, we see that in (other divisions) of the group. During the pandemic, no capacity was available. Airfreight has normalised now. People are flying again, belly space has become available, air freight prices have come down.