Hong Kong: full of eastern promise for TNT
Wed, 18 Aug 2010
UPS and FedEx have recently set up major air freight hubs in southern Chinas Pearl River Delta, but TNT remains focused on Hong Kong as its main hub for customers in the worlds factory, MD Edward Lau tells IFW
Edward Lau, MD of TNT Express Hong Kong, views Southern China and Hong Kong as an interdependent economic region and his business serves customers’ logistics needs based on that rationale.
“A large part of this region’s economy is Hong Kong-invested businesses manufacturing in, or selling to, the mainland. And a big part of what TNT does is to carry high-value goods from factories in Southern China to the world,” he explains.
“The trend we are seeing is these factories upgrading towards hi-tech and high value-added goods, especially in high-end consumer electronics and computers. These fit very well with TNT’s sector expertise in telecoms and healthcare technology.”
TNT uses its Asia Road Network, which covers the Southern China and Hong Kong region, as well as providing links across Asia, in tandem with its intercontinental air freight services.
The reach of both modes has been expanded in recent months in line with demand – Chinese exports to Europe rose almost 50% during the five first months of 2010 on the year before, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
In July, TNT added an additional B747-400 extended-range freighter to its air service linking China and its European air hub in Liege, via its Northern Asia hub at Hong Kong. The capacity addition, a response to rising demand, allowed TNT to offer increased frequency with six flights a week from Shanghai and five a week from Hong Kong.
Lau reports that air demand from the hi-tech and fashion industries has been particularly intense this year, with outbound flights from Hong Kong almost completely booked, and inbound capacity utilisation also healthy, with a well-balanced mix of consignments to and from Hong Kong and from Southern China.
The new air freight capacity, says Lau, allows customers to become more competitive, due to shorter factory-to-market lead times and increased supply chain management efficiency.
“Flexible air transport is particularly important for supply chain management of high-value products,” he tells IFW. “These days, we don’t just ship huge amounts of telephones or computers and keep them in inventory at the destination. Efficient manufacturers use what I call the just-in-time, just-enough approach.
“It’s clear that in the last half of 2009, the world was trying to rebalance inventories. TNT is now seeing an upswing in demand from Europe, and the difference is that now we are working with our customers to meet this demand, with many small consignments arriving in a truly time-definite manner.”
TNT’s presence in Hong Kong is long-standing, dating back more than 30 years. The reason for this is simple, according to Lau.
“Hong Kong International Airport offers high efficiency and excellent connectivity,” he says. “Hong Kong Customs is reliable and efficient, and all this makes it a great place for express integrators to work. That’s why we see Hong Kong continuing to strengthen as an international multimodal hub and continue as an important part of our network.”
“A large part of this region’s economy is Hong Kong-invested businesses manufacturing in, or selling to, the mainland. And a big part of what TNT does is to carry high-value goods from factories in Southern China to the world,” he explains.
“The trend we are seeing is these factories upgrading towards hi-tech and high value-added goods, especially in high-end consumer electronics and computers. These fit very well with TNT’s sector expertise in telecoms and healthcare technology.”
TNT uses its Asia Road Network, which covers the Southern China and Hong Kong region, as well as providing links across Asia, in tandem with its intercontinental air freight services.
The reach of both modes has been expanded in recent months in line with demand – Chinese exports to Europe rose almost 50% during the five first months of 2010 on the year before, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
In July, TNT added an additional B747-400 extended-range freighter to its air service linking China and its European air hub in Liege, via its Northern Asia hub at Hong Kong. The capacity addition, a response to rising demand, allowed TNT to offer increased frequency with six flights a week from Shanghai and five a week from Hong Kong.
Lau reports that air demand from the hi-tech and fashion industries has been particularly intense this year, with outbound flights from Hong Kong almost completely booked, and inbound capacity utilisation also healthy, with a well-balanced mix of consignments to and from Hong Kong and from Southern China.
The new air freight capacity, says Lau, allows customers to become more competitive, due to shorter factory-to-market lead times and increased supply chain management efficiency.
“Flexible air transport is particularly important for supply chain management of high-value products,” he tells IFW. “These days, we don’t just ship huge amounts of telephones or computers and keep them in inventory at the destination. Efficient manufacturers use what I call the just-in-time, just-enough approach.
“It’s clear that in the last half of 2009, the world was trying to rebalance inventories. TNT is now seeing an upswing in demand from Europe, and the difference is that now we are working with our customers to meet this demand, with many small consignments arriving in a truly time-definite manner.”
TNT’s presence in Hong Kong is long-standing, dating back more than 30 years. The reason for this is simple, according to Lau.
“Hong Kong International Airport offers high efficiency and excellent connectivity,” he says. “Hong Kong Customs is reliable and efficient, and all this makes it a great place for express integrators to work. That’s why we see Hong Kong continuing to strengthen as an international multimodal hub and continue as an important part of our network.”
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