EXEL ASIA, EUROPE AIRFREIGHT GROWTH STRONG

EXEL ASIA, EUROPE AIRFREIGHT GROWTH STRONG       Exel said Wednesday that its airfreight forwarding operations in Asia-Pacific and Europe continued to show growth in April after building on a good performance in the first quarter.
   In airweight in Asia-Pacific, the company’s volume grew by 16 percent in year on year in April, and 15 percent in the first quarter in 2002.
   European activities had also seen some acceleration in growth, with airweight increasing by 21 percent in April, compared to 9 percent in the first quarter.
   As a result, Exel’s global airweight grew 12 percent in April, up form the 5 percent year on year growth in the first quarter.
   “Exel’s performance reflects good market share gains, as well as building on modest underlying volume growth in the regions,” Exel said. “Driving the expansion into the retail and consumer sectors has been the growing demand for integrated supply chain solutions that combines long-distance freight logistics with on-the-ground expertise in contract logistics.”
   Exel said that a large contributor to their strong performance in Asia-Pacific has been recent sales successes in the U.S. and Europe, where the company has strengthened its relationships with key global companies.
   Exel said that, with future market growth expectations set to exceed 5 percent per annum, their long-term outlook remains positive.
   Exel, a United Kingdom-listed, FTSE 100 company, employs more than 60,000 people in over 120 countries worldwide.