Integrators investing
The presence of high-ranking public officers at the recent ceremonial staging posts of major projects showed that logistics may not be as insignificant an industry as is sometimes stated in some quarters.
Leipzig / Halle airport (Iata code LEJ) has something that many companies in structurally weak eastern Germany – not to mention many of LEJ’s competitors in the rest of Europe – are probably slightly envious of: strong growth in its business volumes, which in Leipzig / Halle’s case means increasing quantities of airfreight. The airport’s figures improved by more than 6% in the first eight months of this year, in comparison with the like-for-like period last year (see also page 26 of ITJ 43-44 / 2016). For the first time in its history, LEJ expects to break through the barrier in 2016 of 1 million t of airfreight handled in a year. The management of the airport operating company Mitteldeutsche Flughäfen is pulling out all the stops to achieve the figure.
The latest move in this direction saw the operator, acting on behalf of Leipzig / Halle airport, extend an existing cooperation arrangement with the Shenzhen Airport (Group) Company Limited, acting on behalf of Shenzhen’s Bao’an airport. The deal with SZX, located in the Pearl River Delta and which handled 830,000 t of air cargo last year, aims to “provide a joint approach to customers in the field of e-commerce and cool-chain logistics, and to jointly develop products.” Over and above this the deal also envisages the intensification of joint market development activities related to airfreight, shippers and airlines, which in future will also include major players in associated logistics sectors, for example shippers and online traders.
The ongoing dynamic development of the international express consignments segment has prompted DHL, the largest air cargo operator at Leipzig / Halle airport, to establish a new sorting centre at its European hub. The EUR 230 million investment has created 1,300 new jobs, and increased DHL’s capacities there by about 50% to 150,000 shipments per hour.
The opening ceremony on 12 October was attended by DHL’s top executives, with the managers also accompanied by Stanislaw Tillich and Reiner Haseloff, the prime ministers of the German states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt respectively.
Top politician on the scene
The announcement of plans to build a new sorting facility at FedEx Express’s European hub at Paris CDG airport saw another top politician on the scene on 18 October – French president François Hollande attended the event.
FedEx is investing about EUR 200 million in the centre, with the lease running for 30 years. Construction will begin in mid-2017, with operations due to start in 2019. Once completed, FedEx will be able to sort 40% more units than it currently can (61,500 units per hour). FedEx has operated in France since 1985. In 1999 it designated Paris CDG as its central European hub.
