UAE Express delivery firms to continue rapid growth
Express delivery and logistics companies in the Middle East would continue to enjoy a double-digit annual growth in their business in the coming few years as regional economies remain healthy, a senior industry official said.
“In the last five years the business has grown at a rate not seen in the past,” said Hamdi Osman, senior regional vice-president of express delivery firm FedEx.
He said among the key drivers of the business have been the re-export trade and sea-air cargo in the UAE.
“All of us are enjoying a double-digit growth,” Osman told Gulf News.
He said that an economic slowdown in the United States could have an impact on the industry’s pace of growth in the UAE.
FedEx’s express delivery business in the region grew by 20 per cent and air cargo soared by eight per cent last year, Osman said.
“The ground transport segment is the next frontier of growth,” he said.
Within the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc, movement of cargo has been slowed by a lack of effective customs coordination.
Osman said it is “not a perfect scenario” on the UAE-Saudi Arabia border.
The company has a fleet of 800 vehicles in the GCC, including about 100 in the UAE.
FedEx plans to set up a large facility in Dubai Logistics City (DLC), a key part of Dubai World Central project that will create the Middle East’s biggest logistics and transportation hub in Jebel Ali.
Osman said the company is waiting for more details of how the goods are going to be moved between the existing Dubai airport and the proposed Jebel Ali airport.
“We are committed and ready to be in Dubai Logistics City. We are waiting for some answers,” he said.
A 500,000 square foot site has been proposed for FedEx in the area.
DLC has attracted some of the industry’s biggest players, including express operator Aramex, forwarding and logistics firm Danzas, logistics service providers Kuehne+Nagel and Panalpina.
By 2008 the zone expects to lease more than six million square meters of land.
