specialreport
A large portion of our investment has been made in upgrading our hubs and gateways – for example, we have constructed new hubs in Singapore and Brussels and expanded our global hubs in Leipzig, Germany and Cincinnati, US – and our intercontinental and regional air fleets.
Ken Lee, DHL Express Asia Pacific
that our network offers high quality, fast, secure and reliable delivery services worldwide to support customers that are trading internationally,” informs Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.
DHL has also been working on specific solutions – such as electronic shipping tools, new scanner technology and lastmile delivery options – which are aimed specifically at supporting the requirements of online retail customers and B2C business and which address the last-mile delivery challenge posed by the segment.
Speaking about UPS’ strategies to ride on the dominance in the e-commerce market, Louis DeJianne, UPS director for apparel, consumer goods and retail said,“ UPS carefully monitors demand for express air service, and when demand warrants will add a new flight, or increase aircraft gauge, for example from a narrowbody 757 to a wide-body 767. In addition, we are innovating to meet ecommerce demand by operating as efficiently as possible. These innovations include technological advancements that maximize the number of aircraft we can get into our four-hour sort windows, minimize taxi times and avoid weather-related delays. And we do all this while maximizing safety and minimizing fuel burn and emission.”
UPS also works with its customers to help them optimize their time in transit. For example, UPS has helped attract approximately 200 customers to locate their distribution centers near Worldport, our international air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.“ Those customers enjoy what we call " end of runway " service, so they can take orders very late into the evening and still have shipments delivered early the next day,” he added.
Cag bets big on express cargo
Changi Airport Group and DHL Express are to build a 24-hour express facility at the Changi Airfreight Centre that will be completed later this year to support the express cargo segment.
This is expected to multiply DHL’ s throughput by three times and processing speed by six times, thus anchoring Changi’ s position as a key cargo and logistics hub in the region.
SATS is also investing in an e-commerce Hub at Changi with Singapore Post( SingPost) as its anchor customer and the new facility will improve efficiency and space utilisation, and enhance the consignment handling capabilities for both SATS and SingPost.
Meanwhile, towards the East, the massive growth in China’ s e-commerce market has spiked up the demand for domestic air express services. So much so that it has encouraged airplane manufacturer Boeing to offer freighter conversions for its popular B737 passenger plane. So far, the US firm has received 30 orders and 25 commitments for the 737-800BCF( Boeing converted freighter), mostly from China airline customers, to carry express cargo on domestic routes.
According to media reports, Boeing forecasts that over the next 20 years, customers will need more than 1,000 converted freighters the size of the 737, with China ' s domestic air freight carriers accounting for nearly one-third of the total market.
Media reports suggest that the biggest names in China’ s express aviation sector are in queue waiting for the converted single-aisle freighter. Hangzhou-based YTO Airlines has ordered 10 conversions with commitments for 10 additional conversions. Beijing-headquartered China Postal Airlines has ordered 10 conversions, and SF Airlines in Shenzhen has committed to acquiring the plane. Other customers include leasing outfit GE Capital Aviation, Bulgaria’ s Cargo Air and several unnamed airlines.
Mainland Chinese express companies have shown keen interest for Boeing 737-800 BCF, Boeing’ s first conversion offering of its next generation 737 planes. According to reports, Boeing has received 55 orders from seven customers for the model since its launch in February. Among mainland customers, these include 13 orders from Shenzhen-based SF Express, 20 orders from YTO Airlines, a unit of YTO Express based in Hangzhou, and 10 orders from state-owned China Postal Airlines.
The express delivery companies, which used to rely on the big carriers for air transport, are now investing in fleets of their own. When it comes to SF Express, the express player even has an airport of its own in Hubei, central China. The augmented development of air cargo hubs is a critical factor that will impel the prospects for growth in this market over the next few years.
22 | OCTOBER 2016 www. stattimes. com