The company said that the new hub was now in the testing phase and was expected to be fullyoperational in the first half of 2009. No precise new opening date was given. However, FedEx Corp.already said in September that it would hold an investor meeting in Guangzhou on April 1-2, 2009,where the new hub would be unveiled.
FedEx Express did not provide a clear reason for the delay but stressed there would be nocustomer impact since the existing Subic Bay facility would be kept open in the meantime. TheGuangzhou hub, employing 900 staff, will become the centre of FedEx’s intra-Asia air networklinking 24 major cities in Asia to each other and to its global network. There will be 136 weeklyinbound and outbound flights operated by 17 FedEx MD-11s and A310s as well as four feeder planes,according to the company’s hub factsheet.
The revised operations date would provide it with the necessary time to fully test allsystems and processes, as well as work closely with the Guangzhou authorities to ensure allnecessary approvals are in place, FedEx Express said in a statement. Operations testing has begun,including the Hong Kong/Guangzhou cross border transportation processes, sort systems, and flightoperations.
Over the past several months, significant progress had been made in key areas, includingconstruction, IT, employee training, and the installation of the hub’s unique package and sortingsystem, comprised of 16 high-speed sorting lines, seven round-out conveyer belts, as well as atotal of 90 primary and secondary document-sorting splits, the company noted. This advanced systemwill enable FedEx to sort up to 24,000 packages an hour at the start of operations.
In addition, the new hub features its own ramp control tower, a first for an internationalair express cargo company facility in China. The ability to manage operations at the hub bycontrolling aircraft movements on the ground, aircraft parking plans and loading/unloadingpriorities will optimize efficiency and ensure operations are of the highest standard, FedExExpress pointed out.
“Since we announced plans for a new FedEx Asia-Pacific Hub in Guangzhou in 2005, we haveachieved many important milestones toward our vision of delivering growth while providing ourcustomers with expanded access to the global marketplace,” said David L. Cunningham Jr., presidentAsia Pacific, FedEx Express. “As the largest FedEx hub outside of the US, it will help stimulatebusiness both in southern China and globally, and will enable us to meet the growing demands forair express services in the region over the next three decades.”
Rival UPS is scheduled to open its $125 million new China air hub at Shanghai PudongInternational Airport this month and a $180 million intra-Asia air hub at Shenzhen in southernChina in 2010. DHL Express opened a $110 million extension of its Central Asia air hub at Hong KongInternational Airport in September and is due to open a North Asia hub at Shanghai in 2010.
