The rise in demand for home deliveries since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen parcel service DPD massively scale-up its planned order for new trucks.
The company had been planning to order 80 new Mercedes-Benz trucks, including 50 Actros tractor units and 30 Atego 7.5-tonners, during 2020 to keep pace with expected growth.
But the pandemic has seen business boom so much, it has now placed an order for an additional 100 Actros tractor units.
The company has seen UK parcel volumes grow by 50% year-on-year since the beginning of March.
To further cope with the increased demand, DPD recently announced plans to invest £200 million on expanding its next-day parcel capacity, with half the cash going towards new vehicles.
Meanwhile, £60 million will be spent on 15 new regional depots – £10 million more than originally planned – and the remainder on technology.
DPD believes the investment will create 6,000 new jobs, 3,500 of them for HGV and delivery drivers.
