Who Delivers DHL In The USA? (All You Need To Know)

DHL’s bright yellow and red trucks aren’t a common sight in the United States. Still, many Americans have heard of the company and have had packages sent through DHL. 

This begs the question: who delivers DHL packages in the United States? Unfortunately, this question can be a bit complicated, but this article will try to explain the answer as clearly as possible!

Who Delivers DHL in the USA in 2025?

DHL packages sent through SmartMail Parcel, SmartMail Parcel Plus, and DHL eCommerce to the United States are delivered by the United States Postal Service in 2025. In addition, USPS collects packages for DHL SmartMail Parcel Return. USPS has been the sole last-mile delivery service for DHL in more than 20,000 ZIP codes. 

You probably still have a lot of questions about how DHL delivers its packages in the United States, so finish reading this article to get them answered. 

Who Delivers DHL Packages in the USA?

Since 2003, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has provided last-mile delivery for DHL to more than 20,000 ZIP codes. 

Following a 2008 expansion of this agreement, USPS is the exclusive delivery provider for DHL in 3,600 of the nation’s 46,000 ZIP codes. 

Currently, there are four services in this partnership: SmartMail Parcel, SmartMail Parcel Plus, DHL eCommerce, and DHL SmartMail Parcel Return. 

SmartMail Parcel is a service used for packages weighing up to 16 ounces, and Parcel Plus is used for packages weighing up to 25 pounds. 

Finally, DHL SmartMail Parcel Return is a service that uses USPS to collect product returns before transferring them back to DHL. 

How Long Does USPS Take to Deliver DHL Packages? 

Generally, you can expect DHL packages handed off to USPS to arrive in 4 to 8 days, depending on where they’re coming from. 

This includes the initial shipping time, the customs clearance process, and the final-mile delivery by USPS. 

While this 4 to 8-day window is the average, it’s important to keep in mind that things like inclement weather, port blockages, and natural disasters can prolong delivery times. 

Is DHL the USPS?

While DHL and USPS work closely together in the United States, the two couriers differ greatly. 

DHL is a private courier headquartered in Bonn, Germany, specializing in cross-border shipments around the world. 

USPS, on the other hand, is an entity of the U.S. Federal government and is the primary postal carrier in the United States. 

Unlike DHL, USPS focuses on delivering mail and packages weighing less than 70 pounds throughout the country. 

Does USPS Deliver DHL Express? 

It’s important to recognize that while DHL and USPS have a strong partnership in the United States, the postal service doesn’t handle all of DHL’s deliveries in the country. 

Rather, packages sent through DHL’s Express service are delivered solely by DHL couriers. 

Packages delivered through an Express service are a higher priority for DHL and must be delivered within 1 to 3 business days. 

Because of these constraints, DHL can’t afford to waste time delegating deliveries to another agency. 

Why Does DHL Use USPS in the USA?

As mentioned in the last section, USPS is the exclusive last-mile deliverer for DHL in a number of locations throughout the United States. 

This partnership exists for a number of reasons. However, having USPS handle final-mile deliveries makes sense from both a logistical and financial standpoint.  

That’s because DHL is a German company with a relatively small footprint in the United States.  

Because of this, the company has neither the vehicles nor the manpower to successfully deliver to every address in the United States. 

However, even if DHL had the resources, completing all of these deliveries from start to finish would end up being very costly. 

In fact, the last mile of a delivery is the most expensive part and costs about $10 per package.  

Given its lack of resources in the U.S. and the high cost of last-mile deliveries, DHL decided to partner with USPS, rather than invest in more vehicles, gas, or employees. 

Under this agreement, DHL is able to reach more American customers without radically changing its business model or investing a lot of money. 

All of these reasons make it seem as though DHL is the only one benefiting from this arrangement, but that’s simply not the case. 

USPS gets a portion of each delivery fee in exchange for the use of its already-existing network. In other words, USPS is making extra money for doing something that it would be doing anyway. 

To know more, you can also read our posts on DHL waybill number, DHL’s supply chain, and DHL express shipping.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand how the relationship between DHL and the United States Postal Service works. 

In the broadest terms, by working together, the two companies both achieve their business goals. DHL gets access to more American customers for an affordable price, while the postal service generates extra revenue without much extra effort.