DHL Requests Dismissal of Rivals’ Complaints

DHL Worldwide Express Inc. asked federal regulators to dismiss complaints over its foreign ownership that were brought last month by its shipping-business rivals, FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. In a 22-page filing with the Transportation Department, DHL said FedEx and UPS were unfairly trying to stifle competition. “UPS and FedEx are trying to get the government to take an unprecedented step--canceling a rival’s legal registration as an air freight forwarder--on the basis of a totally unsupported legal theory and plainly erroneous claims,” said Geoff Cruikshanks, general counsel for the DHL Worldwide Network. The DHL Worldwide Network consists of San Francisco-based DHL Airways Inc. and Brussels-based DHL International Ltd. This month, Deutsche Post, the German postal carrier, increased its stake in DHL International from 25% to 51%. DHL International owns about 25% of DHL Airways. Federal laws prohibit foreign citizens or corporations from controlling more than a quarter of the voting shares of a U.S. airline and require U.S. carriers to be controlled by American citizens.