UPS looks set to open its new China air hub at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport in November2008, just ahead of the expected opening of FedEx’s new Asia Pacific hub at Guangzhou in southern
China in December.The Atlanta Business Chronicle named the opening date, which had not previously beenannounced, and noted that UPS would be the first US cargo carrier to open a hub in China. It citedUPS corporate strategy group manager Steve Monaghan as saying the new hub would be exclusive andenable the company to grow “a great deal”.
UPS, which has invested about $600 million in China over the past five years, has notdisclosed the full investment for the Shanghai hub which will be leased from the airport authority.
Under plans announced last year, the UPS Shanghai hub will be located on a 96,000 sqm pieceof land at the southern end of the West Cargo Terminal Area. UPS expects to employ about 1,000staff at the facility by 2010, and expand sorting capacity rapidly to 17,000 pieces per hour by2012.
UPS will use the hub to link its international and domestic flights to, from and withinChina. It plans to upgrade the present MD-11F flights with larger capacity, new B747-400freighters, and gradually increase its 76 weekly takeoffs and landings at the airport.
Its Chinese uplift partner, locally-based Yangtze River Express, currently operates 24dedicated weekly flight movements for UPS between Shanghai and domestic destinations.
