FedEx Express to offer next-day service in China

FedEx Express to offer next-day service in China FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., said Tuesday it would offer next-business-day domestic express service in China beginning May 28.
   'Combined with the company’s international express service, the new domestic offering will connect businesses both within China and around the world,' the company said in a statement. 'FedEx connects more than 90 percent of China’s GDP to the rest of the world through its global network.'
   The new domestic services, expected to be fully operational in June 2007, will serve China’s burgeoning market with next-business-day, time-definite delivery service to 19 cities and a day-definite service to more than 200 cities throughout the country.
   “Up to 90 percent of existing FedEx customers in China have expressed the need for a reliable domestic express service,” said Eddy Chan, senior vice president, FedEx China. “This is a strong signal to us that many companies view domestic express service in China as a catalyst for growth and competitiveness in this exploding market.”
   FedEx said it is patterning its China network on the hub-and-spoke system it uses in the U.S. market, focused on the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in East China’s Zhejiang Province. The newly established hub will initially be able to sort up to 9,000 packages per hour.
   A domestic carrier, Okay Airways, will provide domestic air transportation. Using three Boeing 737 freighters, Okay Airways will operate an air cargo domestic network within China in support of FedEx. The aircraft will operate two circular routes nightly, covering the country’s major airports.