Airbus, DHL sign delivery contract

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist within Deutsche Post DHL, has signed a contract with Airbus to provide transportation of A319, A320 and A321 aircraft components and general cargo from the Airbus production site in Hamburg, Germany, to Airbus' final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. DHL will provide air, ocean and road freight services beginning in 2015. The agreement comprises general cargo, which will be shipped via air and ocean, and major aircraft components including rear fuselage, forward fuselage, wings, and the vertical as well as horizontal tail plane. The major components will be shipped via coaster from the Airbus site in Hamburg to Bremerhaven, Germany, where they will be loaded onto container liner shipping service. After their arrival in Mobile, trucks will take care of delivery to the final assembly line at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. (Source: Business Wire, 06/23/14) The $600 million final assembly line will open in 2015 and the first aircraft will be produced in 2016. The plant will eventually employ about 1,000 workers to produce four jetliners per month.