DHL automates Allentown hub

DHL automates Allentown hub DHL said it has automated a sorting system at its major ground hub in Allentown, Pa.
   The firm said automation of the new $120 million hub will particularly benefit customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, eastern Pennsylvania and eastern New York. The Allentown hub services 54 pickup and delivery service depots throughout the region and connects with 18 other sort locations.
   The company said similar work had already been completed at air and ground hubs in Wilmington, Ohio, and Riverside, Calif.
   New equipment at the Allentown facility includes shoe-sort and tilt-tray systems, loaders, unloaders, singulators, dimensional and image scanners, scan tunnels and video coding. Key customer benefits of the automation effort in Allentown include greater letter-and-package visibility through the auto sort system’s track-and-trace features as well as increased speed in the handling and processing of shipments. With the transition to auto sort functions in Allentown, letter-handling capabilities will improve 67 percent and package throughput will increase 85 percent.
   The new Allentown hub features a base footprint of 290,000 square feet with an additional 200,000 square feet of mezzanine workspace, and 12,000 square feet of office space.