Air express network DHL Worldwide Express, San Francisco, will debut a new service July 16 that the company said will provide faster transit times between Asia and U.S. cities east of Denver, which account for 70 percent of DHL's traffic to Asia.
DHL will use cargo routes from its hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to serve business customers east of Denver with delivery to Tokyo; Osaka, Japan; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore; Beijing; Shanghai, China; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Seoul, South Korea.
Businesses west of Denver will continue to use DHL's service through San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The new service is part of an alliance with Northwest Airlines Cargo. DHL will have access to capacity on Northwest's latest freighter flights between Asia and Cincinnati.
“In terms of importance, Asia generates more international trade activities for the U.S. than any other region in the world,” said Jeffrey Corbett, senior vice president at DHL. “Our alliance with Northwest Airlines Cargo is an important part of DHL's ongoing initiatives in this key region.”
The alliance is expected to cut transit times between Asia and the Midwest by as much as one day. Northwest Airlines freighter flights will depart Asia Monday through Friday, arriving the same day. The aircraft will depart Cincinnati for Asia Tuesdays through Saturdays for next-day arrival.
DHL hopes the alliance will allow it to compete more effectively against FedEx and United Parcel Service, both of which offer substantial trans-Pacific services using their own aircraft. DHL does not operate any flights of its own between Asia and the United States, although it says it has a 34 percent share of the Asia Pacific express market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service and Overnite Express Ltd. of New Delhi, India, have introduced a service for packages sent from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to the United States.
The new option will allow Overnite Express to prepare shipments, transport them to the United States, clear them through commercial customs and enter the packages into the USPS' domestic mail delivery network as Priority Mail.
Overnite Express has 14 regional hubs and 800 offices at all major centers in India, including locations in New Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore.
The USPS' Global Business Development group has negotiated similar agreements with commercial enterprises in South Korea, Mexico, Europe, Central America, South America and Asia.
