FedEx Express to open North Pacific hub in Central Japan

FedEx Express has announced plans to establish a new North Pacific regional hub at Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Japan. The US integrator said on Friday that it will expand its presence at the airport in Osaka, central Japan, with a new 25,000 square metre facility that will include customs clearance operations, sorting and transshipment operations.

The new facility is expected to open in the spring of 2014.

FedEx said its new regional hub would be a consolidation point for shipments from northern Asia to the United States, and would continue to operate as an international gateway for customers in western Japan.

The company has made use of KIX for regional imports and exports since the 1990s, with two FedEx offices in the Chubu region, at Nagoya and Toyokawa. It launched intercontinental flights from the airport to Memphis, Tennessee, in June 2010.

FedEx said the new 24-hour operation at the expanded hub will allow greater operational flexibility, but operations at the existing FedEx Asia Pacific Hub in Guangzhou, China, will remain unaffected.

Masamichi Ujiie, the regional vice president for the North Pacific at FedEx Express, said: “We find that the location of KIX is convenient for both the major Asian markets and cities in the United States, and it has also had outstanding 24-hour operations since its opening in 1994.

“FedEx will further enhance its operations and services to our customers to continue the strong momentum of the Asia Pacific region’s economy.”

Shinichi Fukushima, president of Kansai International Airport Co., Ltd, which signed an agreement for FedEx to develop its new hub, said the new facility would have a “major impact” on global shipping, adding that there was “plenty of space” for further development.

“We look forward to growing into a facility that can truly meet the needs of customers from around the world and contribute to their businesses,” he said.