Parcel Carrier DHL-Sinotrans Upbeat
DHL-Sinotrans Express Ltd., a
joint venture between a worldwide express delivery service provider and a
Chinese company, said it expects its business to grow more than 30 percent
this year despite a slowdown in the global economy. The 50-50 venture between DHL Worldwide Express and China Foreign Trade
Transportation (Group) Corp. said the growth would be fueled mainly by the
opening of 12 additional units nationwide by the end of this year. “Our revenue reached nearly US$100 million in 2000, and we are confident that
it will grow further this year,” said Zhang Bin, vice chairman of
DHL-Sinotrans. “With the recent launch of our new airport gateway facility, we
can not only increase our handling capacity, but also cut operating costs and
enhance service quality.” On Friday, the company officially opened the 20-million-yuan (US$2.4 million)
facility, occupying 6,100 square meters in the Shanghai Pudong International
Airport. The new facility, which it claimed to be the largest and most technologically
advanced in China, has a maximum capacity of processing 10,000 pieces of
shipment, or 50 tons of freight, per hour. Equipped with an electronic data interchange, or EDI, system, which is
connected around-the-clock to the local customs office to speed up the customs
clearance process, it is one of Shanghai’s model port projects for this year’s
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation conference. Jointly developed by the customs authorities of China and the United States,
the new EDI system will cut the average customs-clearance time to about one
hour from an average 14 hours. DHL-Sinotrans said the facility, which serves as its domestic transportation
hub, is designed to meet its growing business in eastern China over the next
five years. DHL’s competitors in the Chinese market, United Parcel Service, or UPS, FedEx
and TNT Skypak-Sinotrans also are building gateway facilities, each occupying
5,400 square meters, at the Pudong airport. DHL-Sinotrans said it plans to expand its national delivery network to cover
39 cities in the second half of this year from the current 27. The expansion is part of its attempt to secure its leadership in China’s
international air-express delivery market and prepare for the anticipated
volume growth that will follow the nation’s entry into the World Trade
Organization. The company said its planned subsidiaries will be located in the eastern,
northern and southern parts of the country. DHL-Sinotrans said it currently holds a 36-percent share in the Chinese
market, which it entered in 1986. DHL’s business in China grew by almost 30 percent in 2000 from the previous
year, the company said.
From China Transportation News, Page 5, Friday, July 27, 2001
[email protected] Copyright (C) 2001 Alestron, All rights reserved -0-
KEYWORD: CHINA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Joint Venture
International Exchange
SUBJECT CODE: General News and News in Other IndustriesALESTRON DAILY NEWS, 31st July 2001
