Foreign carriers enter local air cargo market

Lufthansa Cargo, the world¡¯s largest freight airline by cargo carried, has made a major foray into southern China¡¯s air cargo market by launching a 50-50 air cargo joint venture with Shenzhen Airport Co. last week.

As China is becoming the world¡¯s major manufacturing base, a great deal of raw materials and finished products depend on air transportation, making the country¡¯s air cargo one of the fast-growing segments in the international logistics industry. But currently most international air shipments to and from the Chinese mainland are still routed through Hong Kong.

Lufthansa is the second big international air cargo carrier to start flights to Shenzhen Bao¡¯an International Airport. World express delivery giants like DHL, UPS and FedEx Corp. have already pushed into the Shenzhen market.

¡°Although Hong Kong dominates world cargo traffic ¡ª it has been ranked the busiest air cargo hub since 1996, China¡¯s galloping economic growth is encouraging a number of international carriers to rely more on mainland airports for both cargo and passengers. Shenzhen¡¯s airport has been seen by exporters in the Pearl River Delta as a cheaper alternative to Hong Kong,¡± said Werner Schusler, Lufthansa Cargo¡¯s handling manager.

The deal also allows Lufthansa Cargo to offer direct airfreight services in the lucrative southern China market. The carrier only serves two mainland cities, Beijing and Shanghai.

Shenzhen¡¯s airport is China¡¯s first modern international transport hub that combines air, land and sea transportation. The airport has its own ferry terminal with 16 commuting daily services to Hong Kong.

As high and new technology products account for an increasingly large part of Shenzhen¡¯s industrial output, air shipments have been growing at a very fast pace in recent years, attracting both domestic airlines and foreign express carrier giants to gain a toehold in the city¡¯s air cargo market.

¡°Lufthansa will help us expand our aviation network both at home and abroad,¡± said Chen Hong, general manager of Shenzhen Airport Co.

Source: Shenzhen Daily