UPS opened a US$125 million hub in Shanghai in early December with the facility located at Pudong International Airport, with promises of improving delivery times for customers in eastern China by a full day. The US-based express logistics company described the facility as the “key gateway linking China to UPS’ global network”.
The facility features the largest on-site 24/7 customs inspection area in Shanghai and was built to a unique design that facilitates rapid handling of express packages in addition to heavy freight.
“Everything about this facility was built for speed and reliability,” said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International. “Linked now to our vast integrated transportation network, it opens wider the doors of commerce with China.”
Wu Nianzu, Chairman of Shanghai Airport Authority, said: “As the world’s third largest airport by cargo tonnage, and with annual growth of 11.5 per cent, Shanghai Pudong International Airport offers a well-established air network that connects 179 international and domestic cities. The opening of the UPS hub, the first foreign-run hub in the West Cargo Handling Area, further accelerates the implementation of the national Shanghai Aviation Hub Strategy, strengthens the position of the airport and boosts the economic development in Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta and China.”
The hub features 117 conveyor belts and 47 docking bays and has a package sorting capacity of 17,000 pieces per hour. It also is designed, however, for simultaneous rapid processing of heavy freight, recognizing the different types of business done by importers and exporters in China.
Meanwhile UPS is moving its intra- Asia air hub to Shenzhen from its current location in the Philippines. Th e new hub will be activated in 2010 and involve an estimated investment of US$180 million.
DHL and FedEx are also building hubs in China with DHL spending US$175 million to build its North Asia express facility in Shanghai, which will be completed in the second half of 2010. FedEx was to open its Asia-Pacific hub in Guangzhou in December 2008 but has delayed it until mid-way through 2009.
