DHL opens US$175 million Shanghai hub, to spend $132 million on 8 planes

DHL EXPRESS has announced the opening of its US$175 million north Asia hub at Shanghai Pudong and that it plans to spend US$132 million on eight freighters to service routes between Shanghai and north Asia, Europe and the US by 2014.

The new express hub has been built on a site covering a total area of 88,000 square metres, which includes an operational floor space of 55,000 square metres and a 5.8 kilometre long material handling system that serves 94 final sorting positions. It also houses a quality control centre operating 24/seven.

Located airside in the West Cargo Area adjacent to Runway 3, the hub can process up to 20,000 documents and 20,000 parcels an hour. The facility has environmentally-friendly features, including energy efficient T5 lighting and a solar-powered system for hot water.

The company also unveiled plans to spend a further US$132 million on the purchase of eight dedicated aircraft to service high demand routes between Shanghai and North Asia, Europe and the US by 2014. The planned flights will mainly be operated by partner and equity-held airlines: Polar Air, Aerologic, and DHL Air UK.

DHL further plans to increase capacity on routes between the hub and direct connections to Incheon, Taipei, Dalian and Qingdao, with Beijing and Xiamen likely to come on stream in 2013, said the company.

Last year, the company spent EUR100 million to buy three Boeing 747-400 converted freighters to boost capacity, connectivity and service reliability in Asia Pacific.

Operated by Air Hong Kong, a joint venture between Cathay Pacific and DHL, the three B747-400 BCFs with a payload of 100 tonnes each currently service the three high capacity routes of Tokyo-Hong Kong, Singapore-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong six days a week.

The BCFs are also used to operate a more recently launched daily service connecting Hong Kong to Cincinnati, plus a round-the-world flight connecting Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Leipzig that was launched this March. Within the next two years, the company also intends to commence service between Shanghai and the East Midlands, UK.

"DHL's latest North Asia Hub launch and upcoming planned flight investments follows from continuous enhancement in its Asia Air network. In 2011, DHL added two B747 freighters operated by Polar Air to serve Japan, Korea, and eastern China. We also upgraded our capacity on the Beijing to Hong Kong route with new Airbus freighter services, and improved the Shanghai to Hong Kong route with a new B747 freighter service. In support of China's Go West growth strategy, DHL Express also launched five flights per week between Hong Kong and Chengdu," said Jerry Hsu, chief executive officer, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

The company now has four hubs in Asia Pacific located in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Shanghai that together are linked to 70 "gateways" throughout the region.