Three Parcel Carriers Make Major Moves

FedEx Express has launched the express cargo industry’s first direct flight from Mainland China to Europe. The new flight forms an important link in the carrier’s network, and is part of a new westbound around-the-world flight that originates and terminates in Memphis, Tenn. The daily flight from Shanghai to Frankfurt, using an MD-11 freighter, also serves to link key manufacturing regions of Germany with the FedEx global network.

The day after UPS told of the closing of its Dayton, Ohio freight-sorting hub, it announced the integration of new heavy freight operations into its existing operations in Louisville, Ky. The new $82.5 million, 700,000 square foot facility – an addition to its present operations – will permit the carrier to offer international and North American overnight, expedited second-day and deferred air freight services from it Worldport Hub.

A new $107 million state-of-the-art distribution facility will be build by DHL at Allenton, Penna. It will serve all major metropolitan areas in the region, including New York City, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. To serve as a key center for DHL in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the Allentown facility will increase the carrier’s throughput capacity, allowing faster and more accurate sorting of shipments.