United Parcel Service (UPS) has opened a 23,000-sq-ft intra-Asia air hub at the former Clark U.S. Air Force Base in the Philippines to accelerate delivery of goods moving within and out of Asia. The new hub provides a central sorting point within four hours from all major Asian cities, UPS said.
UPS said intra-Asia trade is expected to be one of the fastest-growing markets for the next several years. According to consulting firm MergeGlobal, intra-Asia trade is expected to grow at a rate of 16.8% annually through 2005. In addition, recent studies by the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations project a 7% to 18% increase in air cargo traffic in Southeast Asia over the next 20 years.
The hub is located 50 miles northwest of the Philippine capital city of Manila and can sort 3,500 packages and documents per hour.
