UPS to move Asian hub from Philippines to China

US freight and logistics firm United Parcel Service (UPS) said Wednesday it is relocating its Asian hub from the Philippines to China in the next three years.

Andy Connelly, UPS senior vice president for South Asia Pacific, said the new intra-Asia hub in Shenzhen, China will be operational by 2010.

The new facility, with a total land area of 89,000 sq mts, will launch 100 flights per week and employ 400 people. It has the capacity to process 18,000 packages an hour, Connelly said.

'In the past few years, the increase in trend was moving towards north of Asia,' he said. 'About 75 percent of the intra-Asia package volume shift to North Asia, and the decision was made to handle the packages close to our clients.'

Connelly noted that China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan now account for more than half of UPS' total intra-Asia volume.

'Given the growth in shipping in southern China, it makes sense to sort and dispatch this volume from a hub closer to our customers,' he said.

Connelly said UPS will retain its operations in the Clark industrial zone in the northern Philippines, but on a scaled-down level.

In the next three years, UPS will downsize the number of employees in Clark to 70 from the current 200. Flights will also be reduced to two a day from the current nine. 

Wednesday 21st May, 2008
IANS     Wednesday 21st May, 2008