UPS recorded strong growth in the Asia Pacific region in the fourth quarter of 2009 with adouble-digit rise in export volumes.
Between October and December 2009, UPS increased its export volumes in Asia by 10% comparedto the same period in 2008. UPS Hong Kong saw the strongest recovery with export volumes growingmore than 25% while Vietnam and Malaysia grew more than 20% and 15% respectively.
“We saw a strong lift in the flow of goods in the fourth quarter with Asia to Europe volumesjumping 20% and intra-Asia volumes growing nearly 10%,” said Derek Woodward, President, UPS AsiaPacific.
In early February this year, UPS plans to open its Shenzhen Intra-Asia Hub which is expectedto further boost operations in the region.
The $180 million UPS Intra-Asia Hub broke ground on October 24, 2008, and will initiallyemploy more than 400 people. In addition, the strategic location of UPS’s Shenzhen Intra-Asia Hubwill enable shorter transit time between burgeoning Asian trade lanes. The initial sorting capacityof 18,000 items per hour at the hub is expected to double to 36,000 items per hour in the future.In August last year, UPS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Shenzhen Customsauthority to seal the terms of their partnership for the hub.
“UPS continued to invest throughout 2009 and our new intra-Asia hub is on track to beginoperations. As business sentiments improve in 2010 and businesses position themselves for newopportunities, UPS is in a strong position to support their growth,” Woodward added.
