DHL has opened a fifth international gateway in China – at Hangzhou International Airport, nearShanghai – and launched new flights connecting the booming region to the company’s central Asia hub
in Hong Kong.The $40 million investment in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, is part of $110 million DHL hasearmarked for China over the next few years, which chairman Klaus Zumwinkel announced on a visit tothe country in February. The Deutsche Post subsidiary follows FedEx in setting up a gateway at theairport.
“The new dedicated Qingdao-Hangzhou-Hong Kong flight and the Hangzhou Gateway will greatlydrive the economic development of the regions and enhance our combined capability in these majorlogistics markets – and at the same time provide our customers with greater internationalconnectivity,” said Jerry Hsu, DHL Express’ Greater China Area president.
DHL and its Chinese partner Sinotrans have developed the largest air express services networkin China to date, with five international gateways – the others being Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghaiand Shenzhen – as well as seven other direct flight gateways at Qingdao, Dalian, Chengdu, Wuhan,Xiamen, Fuzhou and Xi’an.
With the launch of the new flight and gateway at Hangzhou and the new 24-hour clearanceservice provided by customs, DHL said its customers in the Yangtze River Delta region and ShandongProvince would now enjoy shorter time-to-market due to later pick-up and earlier delivery times fortheir shipments. The pick-up cut-off time will be five hours later on average, making it the mostcompetitive in Zhejiang, the carrier claimed.
The Yangtze River Delta is the most active economic zone in China and Zhejiang province isthe region’s growth engine. In 2006, the total value of Zhejiang’s imports and exports was close toUS$140 billion, representing 30% growth compared to 2005, and its export growth tops all thecoastal regions in China, DHL pointed out.
DHL has already invested EUR 1.3 billion in Asia Pacific since 2001, EUR 764 million in theGreater China region. The latest investments are part of its “First in China” strategy, launched inApril 2006, which involved building a EUR 18.3 million DHL-Sinotrans headquarters in Beijing, alogistics centre in the Waigaoqiao Bonded Logistics Zone (WBLZ) in Shanghai and increasing thenumber of its branches to 73 nationwide.
This year DHL became the first international express operator to launch a domestic airfreight service in China. It has also ventured westward outside of the usual key economic areas andestablished its presence in provinces such as Shaanxi, Yunnan and Sichuan, as well as Lhasa inTibet.
FedEx has just started its domestic express service in China and is to deliver on the nextbusiness day to 19 cities from its newly-established, 9,000 packages/hour hub at the Hangzhouairport.
