Marie-Christine Lombard is the chief executive officer of Geodis, a global company based in France that provides end-to-end supply chain services. China Daily spoke with her ahead of the biannual Shanghai exhibition “transport and logistic China”, in which Geodis will participate.
Logistics business at Shanghai airports has surged in the past decade, bolstering the nation’s economic growth and turning Pudong Airport into a global cargo hub.
Shanghai port has been one of the world’s busiest ports for four consecutive years on the basis of its rising cargo volume.
The Shanghai Free Trade Zone is boosting the city’s logistics industry chain. The FTZ has benefited logistics companies by lowering transportation and export costs in the Yangtze River Delta region. It will also allow them to offer multiple services to meet market demand, analysts said.
China’s revenue from postal and other express services is surging, reaching 46.36 billion yuan ($7.54 billion) in the first two months of the year, up 22.4 percent over the same period in 2013.
As China’s domestic e-commerce giants build their own logistics networks, competition is intensifying among logistics property conglomerates.
Brookfield, one of the world's largest owners, operators and investors in best-inclass real estate, has created a new brand for its $3.5bn global logistics property platform called IDI Gazeley, which combines the industrial distribution facility operator Industrial Developments International (IDI) and the logistics warehouses and distribution parks developer Gazeley under a single corporate umbrella.
Premium returns of high-end logistics facilities have resulted in nearly 4 billion yuan ($641 million) worth of transactions in the sector since 2011 in Shanghai, China’s financial hub, with new capital flowing in constantly, a report from CBRE said.
Shanghai will host Asia’s largest logistics exhibition from June 17-19 at the New International Expo Center as part of its strategy to develop the local logistics industry.
China aims to upgrade its logistics sector by holding international events that can attract global industry heavyweights.
The sixth transport logistic China will take place in one of the world’s most dynamic logistics markets on June 17, indicating that there is still significant potential in the transport market as demand continues to outpace supply.