Global trade routes are undergoing a period of significant change as geopolitical tensions push shippers to rethink how and where goods move. Across Latin America, companies are increasingly looking for trade corridors that can offer greater resilience, efficiency and flexibility.
Uruguay is emerging as an increasingly strategic location in that landscape. Positioned at the intersection of Atlantic shipping routes and the Southern Cone’s major inland waterways, the country provides an important link between Mercosur, North America and other international markets.
It is in this context that DHL Global Forwarding is strengthening its presence in Montevideo through the acquisition of Aero Cargas S.A. The deal gives DHL its first direct operation in Uruguay and builds on the country’s strategic position, its Free Port framework and the ongoing development of deep-water infrastructure.
For customers, the move is expected to translate into more flexible freight solutions and greater resilience when global supply chains face bottlenecks. It will also give DHL a stronger platform from which to connect businesses with some of Latin America’s fastest-growing markets.
The expansion is part of DHL Group’s Strategy 2030, which focuses on sustainable growth through targeted investments in high-growth markets and in trade corridors that are evolving rapidly.
A partnership more than three decades in the making
Aero Cargas S.A. brings more than 58 years of experience in South American logistics to DHL’s operation in Uruguay. The company has also worked with DHL Group for 33 years, building a long-standing relationship and developing expertise across air and ocean freight, industrial project logistics, land transport and multimodal services.
Its activities extend beyond conventional freight forwarding. Aero Cargas also has experience in Free Trade Zone operations, pharmaceutical logistics and regional inventory management. That existing expertise provides DHL Global Forwarding with an established local platform from which to develop its business in Uruguay.
By turning a long-standing partnership into a wholly owned operation, DHL Global Forwarding is seeking to combine Aero Cargas’ knowledge of the local market with the reach of its international network.
The company expects that combination to give customers greater supply chain flexibility, easier access to regional markets and a broader range of logistics solutions across Latin America.
“Latin America is becoming increasingly important as companies diversify supply chains and strengthen regional distribution networks,” said Oscar de Bok, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding.
“With Aero Cargas S.A., we are establishing DHL Global Forwarding’s first direct presence in Uruguay and are adding a strategic logistics platform that enhances connectivity across the Americas. Beyond expanding our geographic footprint, Aero Cargas S.A. strengthens our capabilities in Life Sciences & Healthcare, Free Trade Zone logistics and industrial project forwarding. Together, we are creating a stronger platform for customers across the Southern Cone, combining global reach with deep local expertise and operational excellence.”
A stronger position in healthcare logistics
Healthcare is one of the areas expected to benefit most directly from the acquisition.
Aero Cargas brings established experience in pharmaceutical logistics, regional inventory consolidation and healthcare supply chains, as well as an existing base of healthcare customers. Those capabilities will strengthen DHL Global Forwarding’s Life Sciences & Healthcare offering in the region.
The acquisition also adds to DHL’s expertise in industrial project logistics and multimodal transportation, supporting companies operating in a range of high-value industries.
Uruguay’s role in the pharmaceutical sector makes the country particularly relevant to that strategy. More than $1 billion worth of pharmaceuticals moves through Uruguay each year, while an increasing number of global pharmaceutical companies are using the country as a regional distribution centre.
Uruguay also serves as an important hub for active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished products arriving from Europe and North America. Once in the country, these products can be processed, repackaged and re-exported to markets including Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
With Aero Cargas now becoming part of DHL Global Forwarding, the company will be better positioned to provide specialised logistics services across several of the region’s key healthcare supply chains.
Uruguay’s growing data centre market
The acquisition comes at a time when Uruguay’s data centre industry is also gaining momentum.
Significant investments by multinational technology companies, alongside state-backed artificial intelligence infrastructure projects, are helping to establish the country as an emerging digital hub in South America.
That development creates another opportunity for DHL’s specialised logistics services. Data centre projects require the transportation and deployment of heavy machinery, cooling systems and increasingly sophisticated technology components. DHL’s expertise in project logistics and multimodal transportation is expected to support these complex movements.
The company sees this area as part of a broader opportunity emerging from Uruguay’s changing economic and infrastructure landscape.
Erik Meade, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Latin America, said the move into Uruguay would also help accelerate the company’s Life Sciences & Healthcare strategy.
DHL Group announced a €2 billion investment plan in 2025, with around 10% of that investment expected to be allocated to Latin America. Establishing a direct operation in Montevideo will allow DHL to channel part of that investment towards the needs of healthcare customers across the region.
A new platform for the Southern Cone
The acquisition ultimately gives DHL Global Forwarding a stronger foothold in Uruguay while reinforcing its wider network across the Southern Cone.
Aero Cargas S.A. will become part of DHL Global Forwarding’s Peru-Ecuador-Argentina-Chile (PAC) cluster, led by Eduardo Rodrigues, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding PAC.
The integration will also ensure continuity for Aero Cargas’ workforce, with all employees transitioning to DHL Global Forwarding.
For DHL, the transaction represents more than a geographic expansion. It brings together a decades-long local partnership, Uruguay’s increasingly strategic position in regional trade and DHL’s global logistics network.
As companies continue to diversify supply chains and seek new routes through Latin America, the new Montevideo operation gives DHL Global Forwarding a local base from which to respond to that changing demand while expanding its reach in healthcare, industrial projects, multimodal transport and emerging infrastructure markets.
