DHL Expands its Footprint in Southeast Asia

With an eye on capitalizing on future trade and commerce growth in South Asia, express delivery and logistics services provider DHL today rolled out its plans to build an $85 million EUR ($93 million USD) DHL Express South Asia Hub, which will be a 24-hour express hub facility within the Changi Airfreight Center at the Singapore Changi Airport.

DHL said this hub, which will further support regional businesses operating in and out of Singapore, is being constructed in conjunction with the company’s investments into the DHL Express global network, adding that it is expected to open during the first quarter of 2016.

The hub will be situated on a 26,0000 square-meter land area and a total floor area comprised of more than 23,500 square meters and will be comprised of the company’s first fully automated express parcel sorting and processing system in Singapore and South Asia. And when it is completed early next year, DHL said the facility will be able to handle a cargo throughput of more than 628 tons per day at full capacity and process 14,000 shipments per hour compared to current levels of 225 tons per day and 2,400 shipments per hour at its current facility.

“The DHL Express South Asia Hub reinforces our global multi-hub strategy by leveraging the unmatched regional connectivity provided by Changi Airport and Singapore,” said Jerry Hsu, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific, in a statement. “In Asia Pacific, DHL Express’ four hubs - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore - link to over 70 DHL Express Gateways located throughout the region. With the continued growth of the Asia Pacific economies, the South Asia Hub will provide the necessary logistics capabilities to support the growth of trade within the region.”

DHL Express’s has an ongoing investment program within its global network to accommodate further growth in Time Definite International volumes.

“Given the strong growth we have seen (and anticipate) within the Asia Pacific region, a significant share of those major investments have been made in the region, including in hubs and gateways and our air fleet,” said Robert Mintz, DHL spokesperson. “We have been working on our expansion plans with Changi Airport Group since 2013. The automated hub will bring a number of clear improvements: it will triple our capacity at the hub, it will significantly speed up our processing speed (by a factor of 6) and will allow us to double the number of flights into/out of Singapore. This will further enhance our reliability and service performance while enabling us to support our customers’ growth.”

Mintz added that the the strategic location of Singapore allows DHL to connect to a number of key markets within Southern Asia and also internationally, particularly through connections with its other key hubs in the region (in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok).

And as the market leader in Asia, he explained, DHL is already in a strong position in the market with an extensive footprint throughout the region. The enhanced performance of the hub and the good infrastructure at Changi Airport will help DHL to deliver further service enhancements for customers and strengthen that position, he said. Other benefits of this new hub cited by DHL include: -how it reinforces DHL’s multi-hub strategy to strengthen its market position in Asia with major investments in infrastructure and services. DHL’s network is served by a comprehensive air network of over 40 aircraft covering 40 countries and territories, and utilizing approximately 690 commercial flights per day in Asia Pacific; and -Changi Airport is currently connected to more than 300 cities across 79 countries, with over 100 airlines operating about 6,500 flights every week.

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