UPS gears up for expanded regional traffic

United Parcel Service Inc, the world's largest package delivery company, has vowed more money and resources to improve the carriage of high-tech and high-end consumer products between China and other APEC economies over the next three years.

David Abney, the company's CEO, said that as Chinese companies continue to emerge as serious global high-tech manufacturers, the US-based company plans to offer more service options to help companies better serve their customers across the region.

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"With the growth in Chinese demand for high-end consumer and healthcare products, and from e-commerce, the scale of these businesses will continue to surge over the next three years and we believe that successful logistics will be critical," Abney said.

UPS owns and operates two major hubs in the country.

In South China's Guangdong province its Shenzhen intra-Asia hub provides services for customers doing business with emerging Asian economies, while its Shanghai international hub links Asia to the rest of the world.

UPS' export shipments rose 9.4 percent in the third quarter of this year with strong growth in both Asia and Europe. It delivered 1.1 billion packages around the world, a rise of 6.9 percent over the same period last year.

According to a survey of 1,000 Chinese exporters by UPS, released last week, respondents said significant reforms still need to be made for China to maintain its reputation as a global manufacturing center.

The survey also showed that while Asia remains the main export target of Chinese manufacturers - with 73 percent of the market share - more than half said they planned to grow their business with Western Europe, and a third said North America also featured more strongly in their future plans.

UPS began offering its Chinese customers the option of booking containers shipped by rail to Europe in June, in a significant move which it hopes will attract more business from exporters.

Last year the company - which has 395,000 workers globally, 6,200 of whom are in China - recorded $55.4 billion in global revenues from its packaging, supply chain and freight operations.

It operates more than 210 weekly flights between China and the US, Europe and destinations across Asia.

Abney said its global trade is not limited to moving goods, however, with logistics advisory services now accounting for a growing proportion of its business in many developed economies.

Huang Yiping, a professor at Peking University's National School of Development, said increasing numbers of small and medium-sized companies in the APEC region are witnessing huge demand for their products in overseas markets.