UPS ramps up competition

EXPRESS    AIR HUB

China - UPS's planned Intra-Asia air hub in Shenzhen is expected to intensify competition in international express service among the big players in China.

The Shenzhen air hub will make UPS the first company on mainland China to have two large transfer centres handling international express business, and will be the company's second transfer centre in the country since it entered the Chinese market in 2005.

Sources from Shenzhen Airport group said the hub is expected to be operational on 9 February, and will see 14 round-trip cargo flights between nine countries and regions in its first stages, reported the National Business Daily.

While Li Xiang, public relations representative for UPS said, "The date will fall in the first quarter of this year," without being further specific.

In December 2008, UPS opened an international air hub in Shanghai Pudong International Airport targeted at direct service connections to the US and European destinations.

Competitors shaking up the industry include Germany-based DHL which has invested US$175 million to build a north Asia express transfer facility in Shanghai, that is expected to be completed in 2012.

FedEx has also moved its Asia-Pacific airtrans-shipment hub to Guangzhou from the Philippines in February last year.

Since the industry opened fully in 2005, international express firms in China have made gains. UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT have witnessed annual growth of 50%, accounting for 80% of the international express market and 30% of market share in the domestic express market, according to a 2009 report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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