DHL Express to invest €750 million in Asia Pacific region

Logistics firm DHL Express on Thursday said it will invest EUR 750 million (about Rs 6,600 crore) in the Asia Pacific region on the back of e-commerce growth.

DHL Express will invest EUR 690 million between 2020 and 2022 to build or expand its facilities in key growth markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong SAR and South Korea, the company said in a statement.

Equally, it intends to spend close to EUR 60 million to bolster its Asia Pacific air network such as introducing direct, new and frequent flight routes, it added.

"The pandemic has caused unparalleled changes to the air cargo industry and it will likely take a long time for the industry to recover to pre-pandemic levels. But having a dedicated fleet and well-implemented contingency plans have helped to keep our network fully operational despite the overnight disappearance of commercial air belly cargo space.

"The growth in e-commerce shipment volumes will continue to outpace the available air cargo capacity in the industry, strengthening the case to invest in adding new dedicated aircraft to our fleet, open up new routes, and supplement our fleet with charter flights," said Sean Wall, Executive Vice President, Network Operations & Aviation, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

DHL Express said it expects shipment volumes in Asia Pacific to be 30-40 per cent larger than last year's peak season, which typically starts around November and lasts until Lunar New Year.

Talking about investment in Southeast Asia, the company said construction of a new gateway facility in Bengaluru is underway, slated to be ready by 2021.

"These investments are testament to our continued confidence in the region. They are crucial not only in the near term as we expect to tackle an unusually strong peak season, but it will make sure that we are well-positioned in the long run to keep global trade running as e-commerce and cross-border trade grow," said Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific.

DHL Express said the expanded infrastructure and new flight routes across Asia Pacific will help the company tackle the unprecedented growth in shipment volume and address the ever-growing demand for time-definite express deliveries.

Since the start of 2020, DHL Express has experienced a 50 per cent surge in e-commerce shipments in Asia Pacific (excluding China), the company said.

DHL Express currently has 23 dedicated aircraft in its Asia Pacific fleet, and operates approximately 1,040 flights per day.

The company said it will be adding a new Airbus A330-300P2F to its Asia Pacific fleet in February 2021, as well as a new Boeing 737-800F in March 2021.

Globally, the company said it has increased the number of its daily flights significantly.

This includes four new Boeing 777F wide-body aircraft that were put into service just this year, with two more expected to be delivered next month.

These six additional aircraft will enable DHL Express to carry out more than 3,000 additional intercontinental flights per year, the company added.