Hermes will shortly be opening a temporary parcel sortation hub in Bradford to accommodate a forecast 15% rise in parcels volume this year.

The Bradford hub, a temporary addition to the network, will be used to handle an expected surge in volume during and leading up to this year’s Christmas peak.

At 50,000ft², it will be capable of processing 60,000 parcels per day.

Hermes is also gearing up for Christmas by launching a courier recruitment drive, and it is hoping to add 2,000 more couriers to its final-mile workforce, up from its current number of 7,500.

The opening of its 340,000ft² Tamworth hub, which will be capable of processing 300,000 parcels per day and is part of the carrier’s expansion strategy for 2013/14 , is also imminent.