UPS has considerably improved service for customers thanks to its year-old Asia Pacific Hub atShenzhen, China, with faster transit times to more than 100 intra-Asia air lanes and the start of
direct service to Guam in the western Pacific Ocean.During its first year of operation, the $180 million hub at Shenzhen Baoan International Airportin southern China has enabled multiple service enhancements for Asia Pacific customers on key lanesbetween India and the rest of Asia and between South Korea and other Asian destinations.
Beijing customers now benefit from improved time-in-transit and later cut-off times to citieslike Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo and Osaka. The key Indian cities of New Delhi,Mumbai and Bangalore have seen reduced time-in-transit to destinations like Singapore, Australia,China, Hong Kong, Korea and Vietnam. Shipments bound from Seoul to major cities like Singapore,Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Tokyo now also benefit from later cut-off times.
“The Shenzhen Asia Pacific hub has enabled us to strengthen our entire intra-Asia network,” saidDerek Woodward, president of UPS’s Asia Pacific Region. “Since we relocated our intra-Asia hub toShenzhen, we have operated more than 5,000 flights to and from this hub. We also have addedsignificant capacity and service improvements to meet the growing needs of businesses to moveintra-Asia express and freight volume. And we’re not done yet.”
“The biggest winners here are our customers. Their goods either arrive earlier or they can enjoylater pick-up times to accommodate last-minute orders,” Woodward added.
As another improvement, UPS will launch a direct weekly flight from Guam to Hong Kong next monthconnecting the US territory to the rest of the world. The company will initiate the Guam serviceusing its largest aircraft, the B747-400 freighter, which offers customers 258,000 pounds ofpayload capacity and is well suited for carrying both small packages and heavy freight required byGuam’s shipping and logistics community.
“The new Guam flight will offer service to the express package, military and forwardercommunities and provide capacity for the burgeoning Asia export market,” Woodward continued. “Additionally, the recently announced expansion of the US Marine base on Guam is increasing requestsfor UPS services there.”
The Shenzhen Asia Pacific Hub, located in China’s thriving Pearl River Delta, immediatelyslashed at least a day off shipment time-in-transit for customers in the region while offering anew level of service to the manufacturing region located just north of Shenzhen.
Since taking direct control of its international express operations inside China in 2005, UPShas made significant investments in that country. In 2009, the company opened its new InternationalAir Hub at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, connecting China to the UPS global air networkincluding US and European destinations. The Shenzhen hub plays a different role by connecting allmajor Asian points for the transport of intra-Asia volume.
The Shenzhen hub totals about 89,000 sqm in size and includes an express customs handling unit,sorting facilities, cargo handling and cargo build-up areas and ramp handling operations. Itcurrently processes up to 18,000 pieces per hour but can easily be expanded to 36,000 pieces. Itemploys about 400 people.
