DHL's parent company has turned to an arch-rival to help salvage its loss-making US express-delivery business, agreeing to pay United Parcel Service $1bn (€639.5m) annually to fly customers' packages between North American cities.

Deutsche Post will also shut down 30 per cent of DHL's US infrastructure and pull out of some areas as part of a restructuring plan that will cost $2bn. The move aims to stem its US express business' years of losses, which may widen this year as the nation's economic downturn bites.