DHL Express to open North Asia hub in Shanghai

DHL Express to open North Asia hub in Shanghai DHL Express said today it will establish a $175 million North Asia Hub at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport as part of its “hubs and spokes” regional air network strategy.
   The new 55,000-square-meter facility will be equipped with an automated sorting system that will be able to sort conveyable shipments up to 20,000 parcels and 20,000 documents per hour. It will also include a quality control center to monitor all air and ground shipments and act as the nerve center for crisis management.
   A spokesman for Deutsche Post World Net, DHL’s German parent company, told Shippers’ NewsWire that the hub should be operational from the second half of 2010.
   “The Shanghai hub will strengthen our regional as well as global network, enabling DHL to continuously meet and exceed our customers’ expectations towards transit times and handling capabilities. The development of a new DHL Express North Asia Hub in Shanghai is also proof of our strong commitment and confidence in this dynamic region,' said John Mullen, chief executive officer of DHL Express.
   DHL runs more than 500 commercial and dedicated flights per week in and out of China through four major gateways in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzen.