You’re expecting a delivery from DHL and you have received an “Arrived at Terminal Location” tracking update.
What does this mean exactly? How long is the package away from delivery and what do you do if your item is stuck on this update?
Let’s take a look…
DHL “Arrived at Terminal Location” Meaning
The “Arrived at Terminal Location” DHL tracking update means that the consignment (i.e the package) has arrived at the DHL Facility (the Terminal) of the city/town nearest to the Consignee (the recipient).
How Far Away is My Package After an “Arrived at Terminal Location” Alert?
When you receive this status alert you know that the package is inside the nearest main DHL facility to the delivery address location. This makes it very close to final delivery.
In fact, you should receive an “Out for Delivery” (or status to the fact effect) within one or two days of receiving the “Arrived at Terminal Location” update.
- Related Content: DHL “Shipment Information Received” Status Alert – Meaning
My Package is Stuck on “Arrived at Terminal Location”
There can be a number of reasons your package is stuck on the “Arrived at Terminal Location”.
For instance, if the package entered the terminal on Friday and missed the delivery window for that day, you will have to wait until the next business day for delivery.
As DHL doesn’t deliver on weekends in the USA, this would be Monday.
Even then, if your consignment hasn’t been sorted and placed onto a truck for delivery to your area, it might not go out for delivery until Tuesday.
That’s a possibility of four days that your alert remains stuck on the update, however, nothing is actually wrong with the shipment.
Other circumstances such as a high volume of packages with too few drivers, deliveries not scheduled for your area on a particular day or even bad weather can cause your item to remain in the terminal and thus the same update.
There are also instances where a package may have been scanned incorrectly, (or the label damaged), misplaced in the terminal, or the specific address not found.
- Related Content: What Does the “Partial Delivery” DHL Tracking Alert Mean?
What To Do If My Package is Stuck on the Update?
If your package remains on the “Arrived at Terminal Location” for more than 3 business days, we recommend that you contact DHL customer services.
Cite the tracking number and explain the issue.
A representative will make enquires with the terminal facility in question in order to provide more information on the delay.
- Related Content: Arrived at Pickup Point DHL – Tracking Guide
What Does “Arrived at Delivery Facility” DHL Mean?
The DHL “Arrived at Delivery Facility” means the same as the “Arrived at Terminal Location” status alert. The two are completely interchangeable and DHL uses each to explain the same situation.
In other words, if you receive the “Arrived at Delivery Facility” DHL tracking update, your package is at the nearest main facility to the destination address.
As explained above, your package should be out for delivery within one or two days of you receiving this update. Anything longer than this and you are advised to contact DHL about the shipment.
- Related Content: What Does “Arrival Destination DHL eCommerce Facility” Mean?
I’m a 25 year veteran of USPS. I’m retired now, but as the editor of Mailbox Master, I can’t quite remove myself from the carrier industry just yet. 🙂
