DHL Express has opened its £113 million North Asia hub in Pudong, China, and plans to invest a further £86 million ($132 million) to add eight dedicated aircraft for its high demand routes between Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US.
Frank Appel, chief executive of Deutsche Post DHL, said: “With Asia’s leading economies fast integrating and free trade agreements reducing barriers to international commerce, logistics companies need capabilities that are ahead of the curve and offer simplicity, speed and service.”
The 947,000 sq ft hub at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport can process up to 20,000 documents and 20,000 parcels an hour.
The hub’s sortation system is designed to automatically detect components that are not in use and switches them to an energy-saving mode until they are needed again.
DHL Express now has four hubs in Asia Pacific, in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. These link to over 70 DHL Express Gateways located throughout the region.
Its network uses over 40 aircraft covering 40 countries and territories, and utilizing approximately 690 commercial flights per day in Asia Pacific.
Its investment in new planes is planned to take place in the next two years. These wil be run by providers including partner and equity-held airlines: Polar Air, Aerologic, and DHL Air UK.
Over the next few months, DHL also plans to add direct connections to Incheon, Taipei and Chinese cities such as Dalian and Qingdao, with Beijing and Xiamen likely to come on stream in 2013.
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