TNT CONTINUES ASIA EXPANSION WITH INTEGRATED HUB LAUNCH

Costing S$20 million (US$13.8 million), manned by 110 staff , and capable of handling over 350 tons of cargo per day, TNT’s expanded and refurbished facility, the Singapore Regional Hub, located at the Changi Cargo Complex, is a key component of the express logistics company’s pan-Asian road network as well as being Singapore’s first integrated air and road hub.

In late 2005 TNT hit upon the idea of developing a road network connecting China with Southeast Asia, creating what was essentially a small scale version of its extensive European road network. Named the Asia Road Network (ARN), the basic pan-Asian land network linking China with Singapore came together last year and coincided with the start of a regular Singapore freighter with a TNT B747- 400ER en route from its European hub at Liege, Belgium to Shanghai, China.

The opening of this integrated hub in Singapore, “crystallizes that strategy,” TNT’s CEO Peter Bakker said at the hub’s official opening on April 15. Noting that these are “extraordinarily challenging times,” Bakker went on to say that “the hub and the integrated road and air network show the way forward.” “Our plan was to deliberately develop road freight as well, next to the air freight solution. And I would actually say this current economic trouble is playing into our advantage because the Asian road network provides a true alternative to air fright, its slightly slower than air freight, it’s much faster than sea freight and yet its significantly less costly for our customers than the air solution.

“So many of our customers who used to be flying stuff around Southeast Asia now select the road alternative.” This is what is sustaining double digit growth figures he said, adding that without the expansion of the Singapore hub they would not be able to cater for that growth.

A new material handling system and RF technology are among the new and updated features expected to aid in faster turnaround times and seamless transfer and consolidation of both air and roadhaul cargo, which will help to significantly increase the volume of time-sensitive road and air cargo passing through Singapore, says TNT.

Logistics Insight Asia