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DHL scores for overseas shipments

Although DHL will be suspending ground services in the United States at the beginning of 2009, they will still process international shipments to and from the U.S. This is good news for international shippers because DHL receives especially high ratings for international deliveries.

In the Great Package Race of 2008, conducted by the Georgia Tech School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, DHL came out on top, delivering their packages first to three of the five locations and finishing second at two others. (FedEx and UPS each finished first at one location.) All packages are shipped to obscure international locations for this annual competition.

DHL is owned by a German company, Deutsche Post World Net. Unlike UPS and FedEx, DHL is not a U.S. company; it is not affected by U.S. embargoes and sanctions and can therefore ship to countries such as North Korea and Cuba.

The drawback is that you may find it tough to find a DHL office or affiliate to send your package if you live in a smaller city or town. Check with local office-supply stores to see if they accept DHL packages. The DHL website has a drop-off locator that's searchable by zip code.