SHANGHAI, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --
DHL Global Forwarding, the air, sea,
road and rail freight specialist division of DHL, the world's
leading logistics company, is expanding its logistics services
network in China to meet the demands of shifting manufacturing
patterns. The company announced the opening of five new branch
offices, of which two are located in the country's most important
inland regions -- Zhengzhou city in Henan Province and Taiyuan city
in Shanxi Province. The other three offices are located in Tier 3
cities -- Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province), Xuzhou (Jiangsu Province)
and Huizhou (Guangdong Province). The move is aimed at better
meeting the fast growing demand in central and western China for
logistics services of international standards.
DHL Global Forwarding also plans to
establish two more branch offices and 20 sales offices, with the
aim of achieving 30% coverage in Tier 3 cities by 2015.
DHL supports industry
transfer into inland China
The opening of DHL Global
Forwarding's newest offices are timely as China's manufacturing
industry goes through a major geographical shift from coastal areas
like the Yangtze River and the Pearl River deltas, towards the
central and western regions.
Said Roger Crook, CEO, DHL Global
Forwarding, Freight: "With the development of central and western
China becoming one of the Chinese government's priorities as part
its 12th five-year plan to speed up the industrial transfer to
inland areas, DHL has benefited from a rapid build-up of
infrastructure in these regions. This has in turn, facilitated the
provision of DHL's scheduled, reliable and flexible door-to-door
services multi-modal transport solutions. Solutions, which, we
believe are already shaping the future of logistics.
"Foreign investment into the central
and western regions is being strongly encouraged by central and
provincial governments (Note 1)," continued Mr. Crook. "In fact,
their efforts have seen foreign direct investment (FDI) to central
and western China surging by 27.6 percent year-on-year in 2010,
compared to 15.8 percent year-on-year in the eastern regions,
according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (Note 2)."
DHL gets closer to its
customers' operations
Located in the heart of central
China, Zhengzhou's GDP alone nearly doubled in less than five
years, exceeding RMB400 billion at the end of 2010 (Note 3). The
local government has announced plans to invest RMB200 million a
year to accelerate the efforts of building the city into an
international logistics center by 2015 (Note 4).
Similarly in Taiyuan, China's
largest coal producing city, GDP reportedly exceeded RMB177.8
billion at the end of 2010. With its industry output comprising
primarily of ferrous metal smelt, coal mining and processing,
chemical processing and transportation equipment manufacturing, the
city witnessed a CAGR of 11.58% from 2005 to 2009. (Note 5)
Said Kelvin Leung, CEO, North Asia
Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding: "As one of China's key railway hubs
and one of the cities in Central China earmarked for commercial and
trade reforms, Zhengzhou has attracted investment from over 10,000
domestic and international enterprises to date. Setting up an
office here allows us to be in the heart of our customers' business
operations. It enables us to understand and respond to their
logistics and supply chain needs more expediently and
effectively."
Strategic step towards long
term development of multi-modal service portfolio
The establishment of branch offices
in inland China bolsters DHL Global Forwarding's strategic plans to
enhance its multi-modal service offering in the long run. Its new
office in Zhengzhou, one of the eight key railway hubs of China,
for instance, sits strategically at the junction of Longhai Railway
(east-west) and Jingguang Railway (north-south).
Meanwhile, Taiyuan boasts its own
advantage with its East Railway Station being one of the biggest
rail container yards in China that also facilitates regular access
to Qingdao and Tianjin seaport. The railway station is the terminal
linking Shi-Tai railway, Tongpu Railway, Shitai Railway and
Jingyuan Railway with high-speed rail access to Shijiazhuang,
Beijing, Shenyang, Zhengzhou and other major cities.
Steve Huang, CEO, China, DHL Global
Forwarding, said: "Looking beyond Beijing and Shanghai and tapping
into China's existing infrastructure in these inland markets
enables us to make our multi-modal solutions that much more
comprehensive. The customers can now not just opt for a combination
of rail, road, sea and air transport with different transit times
and costs but with different origins and destinations in mind as
per their needs too."
Notes:
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Notes to Editor
DHL - The Logistics company for
the world
DHL is the global market leader in
the logistics industry and "The Logistics company for
the world". DHL commits its expertise in international express, air
and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics
and international mail services to its customers. A global network
composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about
275,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service
quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain
requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting
climate protection, disaster management and education.
DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL.
The Group generated revenue of more than 51 billion Euros in
2010.
SOURCE DHL