FedEx Express expands network in Europe, Middle East and Asia
FedEx Express is adding a new non-stop Boeing 777 Freighter flight between Taiwan and its World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee. The company is also adding a new flight from its European hub in Paris to Gdansk, Poland.
And, in Dubai FedEx Express has opened a new regional hub in Dubai to expand its presence in the United Arab Emirates.
Taiwan to Memphis
The new five-days-a-week service from Taipei to Memphis will support customers including major electronics manufacturers shipping products from the Far East into the United States.
The company said the US has been one of Taiwan’s top three trading partners for the past five years, with trade between the two countries reaching $67bn (USD) last year and exports from Taiwan into the US growing by 15.6% year-on-year.
FedEx said its new flight from Taipei would mean a later cutoff time for Taiwanese firms shipping into the US through FedEx International Priority and deferred International Economy shipments.
“By extending the cutoff time to 7pm in major cities and industrial zones throughout Taiwan, we’re providing our customers more time to prepare and manage their exports and supply chains,” said Raj Subramaniam, the senior vice president for global marketing at FedEx Services.
The Boeing 777F aircraft provides a “fuel-efficient” flight into the US, the company said, reducing emissions by 18% per pound of cargo compared to alternative aircraft.
FedEx now operates eight 777F routes between the Asia Pacific region and the US and Europe, along with the new flight from Taiwan.
Paris to Gdansk
FedEx will be using an ATR42 aircraft on its new route from Paris’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gdansk, via a stopover in Berlin.
The new flight to and from the city on the Baltic Sea will be operated four times a week, connecting to the FedEx global network through the Paris hub.
It follows on from FedEx’s acquisition of Polish courier company Opek back in June.
The company said it would mean improved services for customers in Northern Poland, with pickups being made up to three hours later, while deliveries can be made three hours earlier. Transit times for intra-European shipments to and from Northern Poland will be reduced by one business day.
A new next-day service from Northern Poland to the US East Coast will also now be possible, the company said.
FedEx said the Polish region is home to industries including shipbuilding, petrochemical, chemical, electronics, telecommunications and IT, along with pharmaceutical and food industries.
Dubai
FedEx Express has also opened a new station in Dubai this week.
The new Garhoud facility is the company’s fourth and largest station in the United Arab Emirates, including “state-of-the-art” processing systems that can sort up to 3,000 packages per hour.
The facility measures 59,000 square feet (5,481 square metres), and will house 200 FedEx Express employees.
It includes a Retail Service Center, operations station and 24-hour Customer Service Call Center.
Gerald P Leary, the president of FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, said his company had been operating in the Middle East for 23 years, and that Dubai was at the heart of its regional operations.
“The investment in the Garhoud facility is in line with FedEx’s strategy to continue offering outstanding services that fit our customers’ needs.”
