UPS has expanded its Express Freight service into Nicaragua and Honduras, two emergingeconomies that count the United States as their No. 1 trading partner.
The UPS premium air freight service offers a day-definite guarantee, door-to-door service andincludes customs clearance.
“Trade between these two countries and the US has grown at a remarkable rate in recent years.US imports from Nicaragua have been growing at a rate of 21 per cent per year over the last twodecades,” said Scott Aubuchon, UPS’s director of international air freight.
“The growth we began to see after the 2006 Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free TradeAgreement (CAFTA-DR) is now accelerating with the recent trends in near-sourcing. Withwell-established logistics operations in both Nicaragua and Honduras and as a world leader ininternational air freight, UPS is well-positioned to address the growing import and export needs ofthese countries and aid in their expansion to other global markets,” he added.
A rising presence in the automotive industry, Honduras is the third largest exporter ofautomobile wiring harnesses to the USA. The country’s recent diversification of exports overthe past decade from primarily agricultural goods to industrial goods has made the USA and Germanytwo of its largest export trading partners, with 65 per cent of those exports bound for theUSA. It is estimated that 51 per cent of Honduran imports are from the USA, followed byGuatemala and Mexico.
Approximately 58 per cent of Nicaragua export commodities are shipped to the U.S., includingseafood, apparel and precious metals such as gold. Among the Latin American countries involved inCAFTA-DR, Nicaragua has become the fastest growing exporter to the USA, while Nicaragua’s largestimport partners include the USA, Venezuela, Costa Rica and China.
“The combination of low labor costs and the geographic proximity to the US market makeNicaragua and Honduras well-positioned to compete in today’s global marketplace,” said Aubuchon.“These export factors, combined with the growing demand for US, European and Asian consumer goodsamong the young populations in these countries, position them for substantial growth over the nextfew years.”
The expansion into Nicaragua and Honduras will give customers in these two countries accessto UPS’s broad network and connect them to other major trading cities in 27 countries, includingthose in Asia and Europe.
