Thailand: Federal Express upbeat over new business volume after new airport opens
Federal Express Corp, the leading US air express shipper, expects the new Bangkok international airport will result in a large increase in the amount the international shipments but warns that the timeliness of the airport's opening is critical, the Bangkok Post reports.
"I think everybody recognises that more delays would actually mean missed opportunities for the country. If you look around, the airport is a very key competitive factor especially in the economies of Southeast Asia, be it in Malaysia, Hong Kong or Thailand," said Clifton Chua, FedEx managing director for Thailand, Indochina and the Philippines.
"And Don Muang airport's capacity itself is bursting at the seams."
FedEx like other international express couriers is banking on the new international airport, which is expected to begin commercial services in June next year.Over the last 18 months, the company has targeted medium-sized enterprises. It has invested heavily to open new retail outlets and service centres in Nana Square on Sukhumvit Road, Khao San Road and on Bang Na Road.
The Bang Na station, opened in June this year mainly to serve customers in eastern Bangkok, Chon Buri, Chanthaburi, Prachin Buri and Rayong as well as the industrial areas of the Eastern Seaboard, is probably the biggest air courier service centre in Thailand, with five times more space than the company's facilities at Don Muang.
The centre covers 3,900 square metres and can sort up to 2,000 packages per hour. About a 10-minute drive to the new airport, it has 42 trucks and 60 staff."We have been consistently investing in Thailand, because Thailand is one of our key growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region," Mr Chua said."
Thailand is big particularly because of its auto industry, which is partly made up of SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Our station in Bang Na is strategically located to support the growth of that industry."
Mr Chua added that a lot of resources were put into Thailand because of the good growth potential of the air express business in the country, which is expected to expand at a rate that is twice as high than that for the air cargo business.
Over the last ten years, the air express business has grown at an average annual rate of 16%.
"More and more customers are requiring a faster turnaround time from point to point especially with the growth of electronic commerce where goods are being ordered over the Internet," he said.
However, the company's investment in Thailand to cope with expected increased demand from the new Bangkok international airport is small compared to its US$150-million project in Guangzhou, China to develop its new Asia-Pacific hub, which is scheduled to open in December 2008.
The new hub will replace the current regional one at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
The project is a reflection of China's emergence as a trade powerhouse.FedEx's rivals are also beefing up their operations in China.DHL announced last month that it would invest $110 million to expand its hub for central asia with the construction of a dedicated and purpose-built air express cargo facility at the Hong Kong International Airport, while United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) plans to build a hub in Shanghai by 2007.Over the past few years, DHL's investments in Asia-Pacific have totalled over US$1.6 billion.
Part of the investment included the establishment of a new parcel and express service centre at the new airport which is six times larger than its 2,000-square-metre facility at Don Muang.At the new airport, UPS will also open a station in the airside access zone, while Netherlands-based TNT, plans to set up a warehouse there.
