UPS opens $80 million Clark hub

CLARK, Pampanga, Philippines — Logistics giant United Parcel Service (UPS) opened its new Clark hub yesterday after investing more than $80 million (approximately P5.04 billion), marking its largest investment in the Philippines to date to expand its package-processing capacity and improve international shipment times.

Located at Clark International Airport, the 30,000-square-meter facility can process up to 15,000 packages per hour, up from 1,250 at its previous Clark hub. Average daily package volume is expected to rise to 46,000 from 5,000.

Daryl Tay, UPS president for North Asia and Asia Pacific operations and strategy, said during a media briefing on Tuesday that the company would continue investing in technology to improve its operations.

“We continue to deploy state-of-the-art technology to ensure that we provide the customer with the best visibility and productivity,” Tay said.

The hub features an automated small-package sorting system capable of processing up to 9,000 packages weighing less than three kilograms each per hour. UPS said it is the first system of its kind in its Philippine operations.

The expansion is expected to speed up shipments between eastern China and major Asia Pacific markets by up to two days. Transit times between several Southeast Asian markets and India could also improve by as much as two days.

Albert Sapaen Jr., general manager of the UPS Clark hub, said Philippine customers would be among the biggest beneficiaries of the expansion.

“They’re the biggest beneficiaries of the enhancements that we have put in place with this expansion. Those 1,100 [international] trade lanes, Philippine customers will surely be able to take advantage of that,” Sapaen said in an interview with The STAR.

He said UPS was also looking at ways to help Philippine small and medium enterprises navigate international trade.

UPS has cited Clark-area makers of wooden products, model planes and model ships as businesses that could benefit from later pickup cutoffs, giving them more time to prepare shipments for overseas customers.

Clark’s location within a three- to four-hour flight of many manufacturing centers in Asia Pacific, along with its open-skies environment, makes it a strategic base for UPS’ regional air network.

The expansion has created nearly 600 jobs, with most workers residing in Pampanga. UPS operates 170 weekly flight segments to and from Clark and first opened a hub in the area in 2002.