Archive for the 'courier services' Category

Air China has bought a 25% stake of Air China Cargo for about US$116 million from Citic Pacific and raised its shareholding in the company to 76%.

Air China Cargo is China’s biggest air cargo airline by capacity and about 10 Boeing 747 freighters mainly on international routes and also uses the cargo holds of Air China’s international passenger aircraft to transport cargo.

Air China expects a further growth in the Chinese air cargo business.

The cargo airline is also 24% owned by Beijing Capital Airports Holding, which operates Beijing’s international airport.
Source: CargoNews Asia

Australia Post is keen to expand its domestic and international logistics operations and sees China as a potential partner for further growth. Important to get straight that Australia Post is not some sleepy government sub-organisation. It is very lively and pro-active and does a lot more than deliver the post. As in deliver grocery orders every week and acting as a small load courier.

It already has a partnership with China Post called Sai Cheng Logistics which it hopes will be the conduit to its long- term aim of becoming a more significant player in Asia-Pacific logistics.

Australia Post so far has alliances in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States and Britain.

Australia Post has US$91.6 million available for investment and it will concentrate on improving warehousing and electrical systems in support of logistics operations.

With great and understandable logice Australia Post’s managing director Graeme John said: ‘Our growth in parcels and logistics is partly driven by online trading.’ And this will become vastly more important in the coming year.
Source: CargoNews

Australia Post is keen to expand its domestic and international logistics operations and sees China as a potential partner for further growth.

Australia Post has a partnership with China Post called Sai Cheng Logistics which it hopes will be the conduit to its long- term aim of becoming a more significant player in Asia-Pacific logistics.

Australia Post already has alliances in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States and Britain.

Australia Post has US$91.6 million available for investment it will concentrate on improving warehousing and electrical systems in support of logistics operations.

Australia Post’s managing director Graeme John said: ‘Our growth in parcels and logistics is partly driven by online trading.’

Anyone who has experience with Australia Post will testify to the fact that it is entrepreneurial, efficient and always looking for ways to expand. So it is likely that it will expand into China.
Source: CargoNews

FedEx, the US-based logistics giant, plans to start operation of its Asia-Pacific delivery centre it is currently building within Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport, shown from the air in our illustration, by the end of 2008.

This delivery centre project has a total investment of US$337 million and is expected to become a super large delivery center catering toover 30 Asia-Pacific countries.

The project is expected to add about one million tonne per year of cargo turnover for the Baiyun airport within the first year of operation.
FedEx predicts that this delivery center will handle US$11 billion in revenue by 2010 and $65 billion by 2020.

Construction of the project started in early 2006.
Source: CargoNews Asia

U.S. AMB Property, a major global owner and developer of warehouses and distribution centres, has launched an industrial real estate project in eastern China as part of its planned expansion.

AMB Beilun Port Distribution Center is located in the Ningbo Economic and Technological Development Zone. The 37,000-sq-meter distribution center project has just started in the eastern port city of Ningbo, near Shanghai and will be completed by mid-2008.

Hamid Moghadam, AMB’s chairman and chief executive, said, ‘China represents an important part of AMB’s expanding global platform. The center paves the way for future development of port distribution property supporting China’s booming seaport trade.’

He said China is on track to overtake Japan as AMB’s largest market in Asia in three years in terms of development area and in 5 to 7 years in terms of portfolio value.

Other AMB properties in China include a 31,800-sq-meter distribution center in Shanghai and a 96,700-sq-meter distribution center, which has been leased to global express delivery and logistics provider DHL.

German logistics giant Schenker, under fire from Chinese authorities over allegations that it was operating with a fake non-vessel-owning common carrier (NVOCC) license, has shifted all mainland business to its two Hong Kong units.

Neither of the Hong Kong organizations — Schenker Logistics (Shanghai) Co Ltd and Schenker International (HK) Ltd —- is involved in the investigation being conducted by China’s Ministry of Communications (MOC).

‘Schenker will continue to provide reliable ocean freight services from and to China through its registered organizations in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Schenker Logistics (Shanghai) Co Ltd and Schenker International (HK) Ltd,’ a Schenker spokesman told Cargonews Asia.

‘Both are holding valid NVOCC licenses, as acknowledged by the MOC.’

Companies on the mainland involved in negotiating freight rates with and buying slots from shipping lines, selling slots and issuing their own bills of lading to shippers require an NVOCC license.

The spokesman said Schenker was ‘closely cooperating’ with the Chinese authorities to clear the case as soon as possible. He said only the ocean freight business of Schenker China was affected but ‘Schenker China has more than ocean freight business’.
Source: CargoNews Asia

A formal groundbreaking ceremony at Pudong International Airport sees the start of the new UPS International Air Hub at Pudong.

UPS Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew who was there to help out, said, ‘The opening of this hub will ensure we are well-positioned to support the explosive growth in Asia’s regional trade.

‘Export volume growth in China and throughout Asia has been robust and the outlook remains bright. We are extremely proud to be the first U.S. airline to open an international air hub in China under the 2004 U.S.-China Air Services Agreement.’

Over the past five years, UPS has invested about $600 million in China, including a successful transition to become the first wholly-owned foreign express carrier in the country.

Located at the southern end of the West Cargo Terminal Area, the new hub will open next year. The hub is planned to have a sorting capacity of 17,000 pieces per hour. The new hub will link China via Shanghai to UPS’s international network with direct service to the Americas, Europe and Asia. It also will connect points served in China through a dedicated service provided by Yangtze River Express, a Chinese all-cargo airline.

UPS celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and is the world’s largest package delivery company.
Source: BusinessWire

In an effort to further develop its logistics presence in China, less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services provider YRC Worldwide has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire Shanghai Jiayu Logistics, a China-based provider of LTL ground transportation services. The phrase less-than-truckload (LTL) is one of the more self-explanatory used in logistics and is to be commended.

Shanghai Jiayu Logistics has more than 30,000 customers, 1,600 employees, 300 tractors, and a 3,000 vehicle network.

Bill Zollars, YRC president and CEO, said in a statement this acquisition will advance the company’s scale and capabilities in China.

Jim Ritchie, president and CEO of YRC subsidiary YRC Logistics, which was re-named from its original name — Meridian IQ — earlier said in a March interview that from a ground-transportation standpoint, China continues to be very limited. And because of this limited—and highly fragmented—transportation network, foreign transportation services providers are taking different approaches when contemplating how to best set up shop in China.

He said, ‘By linking together the same service providers along different segments of the supply chain, we are starting to get better dependability and visibility.’

That statement, in fact, sums up the way that logistics in China has to go.

YRC Logistics offers shippers logistics and freight forwarding services in China. It has roughly 70 trucks on the road in China and works with 39 Chinese transportation companies and provides inland transportation services for approximately 200 shippers. Its global operations have170 offices in 76 countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.
Source: Logistics Management

Moving to become even more international the splendidly named time:matters has opened an office in Shanghai. It already has subsidiary offices in Austria, Switzerland and the Philippines.

The international time:matters network covers 400 destinations in 90 countries and boasts extremely short processing times for the transport of products between European economic centers

For example, automotive spare parts produced in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava reach their Spanish place of installation near Madrid in seven hours — including on-site delivery

The goal of the new sales office in Shanghai, is to utilize the Chinese market’s dynamic growth for the establishment of time:matters services in Asia. The high-tech and automotive segments are of special interest: both branches report a continual increase in demand for specialist logistics solutions.

Shipments can be transported from and to Shanghai — on flights from airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss and Air China, which are used by the international time:matters network.

Thus, same day deliveries between Asia and Europe are possible if not inexpensive.

Franz-Joseph Miller, time:matters’ CEO, explaining his company’s internationalization strategy, said, ‘It is our credo, to be present on site, where our customers are and their problems arise, in order to offer the best possible solutions. Both the branch office in Austria and the office in Shanghai underline this strategy.’

In 2006 time:matters opened its first foreign branch office in Zurich as a first step in extensive internationalization of its business model; in 2007 branch offices in Vienna and Shanghai were opened.

Lufthansa Cargo AG, which spun off time:matters in 2002, owns 49% of the company shares.
Source: Cargo News

Hundreds of international logistics and supply chain management leaders are meeting in Tianjin June 13 for the conference sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Executives from leading companies in China, the US, and other countries around the world will exchange the latest logistics techniques.

Rick Blasgen, president and chief executive officer of CSCMP, said, ‘China is the second-largest trading partner with the US, and China’s logistics and supply chain industries are playing a huge role in global commerce.

‘This is our third major conference in China and we are delighted to provide a forum for so many important organizations to network and collaborate.’

The two-day event is being held at the Renaissance Tianjin TEDA Hotel & Convention Centre, Tianjin, China.
Source: Antara