Global logistics: UPS marks one-year anniversary of Shenzhen Asia Pacific hub

Earlier this week, UPS marked the one-year anniversary of its Shenzhen Asia Pacific hub, which serves the company’s entire intra-Asian network.

UPS also announced that in June it is rolling out a new direct weekly flight from Guam to Hong Kong, which connects Guam to the rest of the world.

Company officials said that since this hub has been open for business it has made improvements to more than 100 intra-Asian lane pairs since May 2010, which are comprised of faster transit times on key lanes between India and the rest of Asia and between South Korea and other Asian destinations.

The hub was previously located in Clark, Philippines. UPS has had control of its international express operations in China since 2005. The $180 million facility connects all major Asian points for the transport of intra-Asia volume, according to company officials. 

“With the Shenzhen Asia Pacific Air Hub, our biggest winners here are our customers,” said Derek Woodward, president of UPS Asia Pacific Region, in an interview. “Their goods can either arrive earlier or they can enjoy later pick-up times to accommodate last-minute orders.

Woodward said that with China being seen as the “world’s manufacturer,” the Shenzhen Asia Pacific Air Hub, strategically located at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in China’s Pearl River Delta, offers a new level of service to the manufacturing region located just north of Shenzhen with service enhancements adding routes and capacity to drive volume.

And in its first year of operation, Woodward said the hub has made multiple service enhancements possible for Asia-Pacific customers, including:
-Beijing customers now benefiting from improved time-in-transit and later cut-off times to cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo & Osaka;
-the key Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have seen reduced time-in-transit to destinations like Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam;
-shipments bound from Seoul to major cities like Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Tokyo now benefit from later cut-off times.

The nearly 1-million square-foot hub is comprised of an express customs handling unit, sorting facilities, cargo handling and cargo build-up areas and ramp handling operations. UPS said it can currently process up to 18,000 pieces per hour and can expand to a capacity of 36,000 pieces per hour.

New Guam service: The new UPS weekly Guam flight will offer service to the express package, military and forwarder communities and provide capacity for the Asia export market, said Woodward.