DHL’s US$175 million regional hub to boost presence in Asia

DHL has announced plans to build a US$175 million regional hub in Shanghai, a move aimed at cementing its position in the country.

The DHL Express North Asia Hub will be located at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport and is expected to provide DHL's customers with greater regional links in China and North Asia region

The 55,000 sqm facility is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2010.

The announcement was made on Monday this week in Shanghai at a signing ceremony officiated by Dan McHugh, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific and Wu Nian Zu, chairman and president of the Shanghai Airport Authority (SAA). The latest investment brings DHL's total investment in Asia to over US$2.2 billion in the past few years. 

The hub is expected to help boost the company's growth in Asia Pacific and strengthen its presence in China and the region to meet growing regional and international trade, DHL said.

"We are confident that this hub will give us an even greater competitive edge in managing the huge and complex global trade that is being routed to this region, enabling DHL to continuously meet and exceed our customers' expectations," McHugh said.

In addition, the North Asia Hub will improve transit time across North Asia and especially customers located in the Yangtze River Delta, the company said in a statement. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the Yangtze River Delta is currently the most active economic zone in China, accounting for almost 35% of China's total value of imports and exports.

The new hub will also come equipped with advance features such as a Quality Control Centre that monitors DHL shipments in the air and on the ground 24/7 and a high-tech automated sorting system to boost operational capability, efficiency and cargo processing speed. It will have a peak capacity to sort conveyable shipments of up to 20,000 parcels and 20,000 documents per hour.

Part of DHL's multi-hub strategy for Asia Pacific, the North Asia Hub complements the other Asia Pacific hubs in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Incheon, Singapore and Sydney. The six hubs, together with almost 50 DHL Express Gateways across Asia Pacific make up an extensive network infrastructure in the region and worldwide.

The company said it uses over 500 commercial and dedicated flights per week in China, while more than 20 dedicated aircraft serve its customers in Asia in more than 30 destinations and 16 countries.