The U.S. Postal Service says its new agreement with DHL to carry packages to their destination in certain locations in the United States extends an existing agreement between the post office and the express carrier.

"I am pleased DHL has chosen to expand its existing relationship with the Postal Service, giving us the opportunity to deliver more of their packages the last-mile," said Jim Cochrane, acting vice president of ground packages for USPS. "This new volume is a natural extension of the delivery service we already provide to DHL and further recognizes the inherent value of the delivery reach of the Postal Service. Last-mile delivery remains a fundamental strength of the Postal Service."

The DHL-postal agreement is part of a broad restructuring DHL announced Wednesday of its troubled U.S. operations. DHL also will close about a third of its stations in the United States and outsource its entire flight operations to UPS.

The expansion makes USPS the exclusive provider of delivery service to DHL for 3,600 of the nation's 46,000 ZIP Codes through use of Priority Mail and Parcel Select service. DHL will pick up packages, transport and deposit them at a postal facility. From there, Postal Service carriers deliver the packages the last mile to their final destinations. It continues the hybrid DHL@home service, which allows tracking from door to door.

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