Logistics provider DHL Global Forwarding has hired 49 workers at its Port Huron customs processing centre in Michigan, US. The company said the Port Huron centre relied on state-of-the-art technology and experienced customs brokers, adding it may recruit more staff in the year ahead.

DHL is seeing growing demand for customs brokerage from customers as global trade and import compliance regulations became more complex, an area David Goldberg, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding US, described as an ever-changing landscape.

Alejandro Palacios, head of customs brokerage for DHL Global Forwarding, Americas, added: “We understand that to deliver a consistently reliable service to our customers we must incorporate the best talent at each of our locations; talent that understands the nuances and evolving facets of international trade.”

The northern border team deals with all aspects of the customs process for both truck crossings with Canada and automotive sector-specific international cargo clearances.

Last year the Port Huron full-service centre handled more than 500,000 entries from a DHL Global Forwarding total of around 1.2m in the US. Automotive, including components, accounted for 26% of Port Huron’s clearances. Those parts were going cross-border to Canada and on international routes via all other ports of entry or countries of origin, a spokesperson told Automotive Logistics.

At Port Huron, as at its two other major US centres, at Laredo (Texas) and Columbia (South Carolina), DHL Global Forwarding provides customs brokerage services to large multinational customers, including compliance, consulting, post-entry, duty drawback reconciliation and foreign trade zone services.

Automotive goods accounted for 45% of all items DHL Global Forwarding cleared at the Laredo centre and 19% at Columbia.