Shanghai FTZ offers potential to reduce shipping times
January 30, 2014 Category Airlines and airports, Logistics
Transferring cargo in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) could reduce shipping times significantly. DHL was selected as the first in the sector to test the waters of the international transshipment business in the pilot area. The company has launched its first international transit air route that offers transfers in Shanghai. It is also the first of its kind to operate in China. The new route could save eight hours out of the three-day journey from Leipzig to Tokyo compared with the old route via Hong Kong, according to Qian Xiaorong, Project Manager at the DHL North Asia logistic center at Pudong International Airport, which handles the operation of the new route. In the center, cargo from international transshipments is unpacked, sorted and repackaged according to destinations, without having to receive customs checks or pay duties. As a key index to measure the internationalization level of an airport, international transshipments usually account for more than 50% of the total cargo volume at hub airports. As the largest cargo airport in China and the third-largest worldwide, Pudong airport handles 3 million tons of cargo a year. Before international transshipment was introduced in the free trade zone, such cargo could only go to Japan or Singapore. “Shanghai has the potential to become an international hub for cargo transport because it is better positioned than Hong Kong and Singapore, in terms of being a shorter distance to Europe and the United States,” said Qian. Such an advantage becomes more apparent using the polar route over the Arctic, which could save up to four hours of flight time compared with traditional routes, she said. With only one route, the center seems to be underutilized with its 88,000 sq m area and a capacity to handle 40,000 parcels and envelopes per hour. DHL plans to launch more international transshipment air routes next year, the China Daily reports. In the first 10 months of this year, the volume of transshipment cargo at Pudong airport has surged by 125% compared with the same period last year. Pudong airport also plans to upgrade and expand its air cargo facilities. The air cargo volume at Pudong airport is expected to reach 5 million to 7 million tons a year in 2015.
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