DHL China to surpass Japan in two years
China will eclipse Japan in two years as the largest market in Asia for express mail giant DHL, the company said.
The company’s business in China is growing by about 40% each year, said John Mullen, chief executive officer in Asia.
In the next 12 months, it plans to add 1,000 more employees to its staff of 3,800 in express services in China, Mullen said. DHL’s shipping unit plans to expand its China workforce of 380 by 40%, he added.
“China will be our largest business in Asia in about two years,” Mullen said during a media luncheon.
He said that DHL’s revenue for the Asia-Pacific region totals about 2.5 billion euros (US$2.9 billion). DHL, based in Brussels, Belgium, is a unit of German postal service Deutsche Post, Europe’s largest mail company.
Uwe Rolf Doerken, chief executive officer for DHL Express, said that Asia has been “surprisingly resilient” during the recent global economic slowdown.
“China is an incredible growth engine,” he said, adding that Japan is still a successful market for DHL.
Doerken declined to speculate whether the global economy was at the start of a longterm, sustained recovery.
He said that DHL is now negotiating with between five and 10 airlines worldwide about using their planes to ship packages. Doerken said such agreements set DHL apart from its U.S. competitors, United Parcel Service and Federal Express, who use their own planes.
“We don’t believe we always have to own the aircraft that transport our goods,” he said.
DHL has a 40% stake in a joint venture with Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific and Air Hong Kong.
The company has also acquired a 5% stake in Sinotrans Limited, one of China’s largest logistics companies providing shipping, freight forwarding and express services.
Mullen said the DHL-Sinotrans partnership was a “firm, well-based relationship.”
He said there were no plans to follow the example of other foreign companies that have been cutting ties with their Chinese partners. Chinese law once required all foreign firms to have partnerships with Chinese companies before they could enter the mainland market.
“We see Sinotrans as our longterm, strategic partner in China,” Mullen said.
