UPS expands freight service into Honduras and Nicaragua

UPS has expanded its express freight service into the growing economies of Honduras and Nicaragua. The US company said the two central American countries were emerging countries with the United States as their top trading partner.

The expansion of the UPS Express Freight service offers a day-definite guarantee with its door-to-door offering, which includes customs clearance.

The new service will connect customers in Nicaragua and Honduras to major trading cities in 27 different countries, including in Asia and Europe.

Scott Aubuchon, UPS’s director of international air freight, said trade between the US and the two Central American countries had grown at a “remarkable rate” in recent years.

He said US imports from Nicaragua had been growing at a 21% rate per year over the past two decades, 10 times faster than the US economy.

Aubuchon said: “The growth we began to see after the 2006 Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) is now accelerating with the recent trends in near-sourcing. With well-established logistics operations in both Nicaragua and Honduras and as a world leader in international air freight, UPS is well-positioned to address the growing import and export needs of these countries and aid in their expansion to other global markets.”

Honduras has developed from a largely agricultural export economy to a producer of industrial goods over the past decade, UPS said, with the US and Germany its biggest export trading partners.

The nation has a growing automotive industry, UPS said and is the third largest exporter of automobile wiring harnesses to the US.

Imports into Honduras are around 51% from the US, followed by Guatemala and Mexico.

Nicaragua, meanwhile, has one of the fastest-growing export relationships with the US in Latin America. Its major trading partners also include Venezuela, Costa Rica and China.

Some of the major exports from Nicaragua into the US include seafood, clothing and precious metals.

“The combination of low labor costs and the geographic proximity to the U.S. market make Nicaragua and Honduras well-positioned to compete in today’s global marketplace,” said Aubuchon.

“These export factors, combined with the growing demand for U.S., European and Asian consumer goods among the young populations in these countries, position them for substantial growth over the next few years.”