UPS Wins Tentative Go-Ahead for Expanded Access to China
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively authorized UPS (UPS) to significantly expand its air operations in China.
The decision, tripling UPS’s access to China over the next year, will provide significant opportunity for UPS to continue growing its business within the region while providing customers with service in all segments of the market – from general freight to express delivery.
UPS currently flies from the United States to China six times per week. Today’s tentative decision grants UPS six additional frequencies to Shanghai immediately and six new frequencies to Guangzhou next year. The new frequencies will allow UPS to connect Shanghai to Japan for the first time with non-stop service, and the 2005 frequencies will allow UPS to offer non-stop service from the U.S. to Guangzhou for the first time.
The United States and China negotiated a new bilateral agreement earlier this year that opened the door for expanded aviation rights. UPS formally applied for the new authority in July.
“The new flights will allow UPS to greatly enhance service to this leading global market, to the benefit of customers around the world,” said UPS Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew. “This provides an extraordinary opportunity for strengthening commercial supply chains that support growing international trade between the United States and China and throughout the world.”
UPS successfully entered the China market in 1988 in partnership with China’s Sinotrans and then began direct air service in 2001. It has experienced double-digit growth in the U.S.-China market over each of the last three years. Last year, UPS became a strategic investor in Sinotrans through an initial public stock offering and also became the first foreign air express carrier to form a commercial relationship with a domestic Chinese air carrier – Yangtze River Express – cutting a day off delivery times within the region.
UPS also began its operations throughout the rest of Asia in 1988 and currently serves more than 40 countries and territories in the region. UPS operates air hubs in Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines and was the first in the industry to offer non-stop service from the United States to China. Any additional rights provided to UPS under the new bilateral accord, including the establishment of a new hub in China, will complement UPS’s existing air network in the region.
UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS), and the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.
