2009 week 25
TNT in the media - week 25
Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia and Albania connect
15 June 2009
TNT Express has started international road connections to Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia, and Albania. The new routes allow for a significant upgrade to the company’s Economy Express service to and from these countries.
With the new connectivity, customers of TNT Express now benefit from an economical, day-definite, customs cleared, door-to-door delivery service for parcels and freight weighing up to 500 kg palletised per piece. This is a major increase from the previous 30 kg per-piece weight limit.
The four new routes add to the 35 European countries already covered by TNT’s Express Road Network, making it the largest fully integrated express road network in Europe.
“We have filled in some of the last remaining blanks in TNT’s road coverage of Europe.” says Ben Klaassen, Managing Director of TNT’s Express Road Network. “Express volumes may still seem modest in these countries but they have picked up fast in recent years and so it was time to extend our connectivity.”
TNT will use Bucharest (Romania) as the hub connecting Moldova to the rest of Europe and the world. Warsaw (Poland) will act as a hub connecting Belarus. Sofia (Bulgaria) will serve as a hub for shipments moving in and out Macedonia and Albania.
TNT’s Economy Express service to and from these countries is available for customers worldwide, and provides day definite transit times of 4-8 days typically, depending on the distance.
“We continue to move ahead with expansions in emerging European economies,” says Jan Willem Breen, Director Marketing & Sales of TNT Express. “TNT recently upgraded its service to Ukraine, Malta and Cyprus. We are now reinforcing connections with countries neighboring the EU in the east and in the south to provide our customers with the most economical express service for their parcels and freight.”
In 2008, TNT Express was the first integrator to open a road connection to Ukraine and a road-ferry connection with Malta. Prior to that, TNT extended its road network to Morocco, creating the first road link with northern Africa.
Source: Transport Weekly, www.transportweekly.com
TNT Buys Stake In Von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
16 June 2009
TNT NV (TNT.AE) announces Tuesday that TNT Post Germany acquired shares in the regional mail companies of the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group GmbH.
TNT Post currently covers around 90% of Germany with a nationwide delivery network.
Included in this strategic distribution partnership are two 50% joint ventures in the Berlin and Brandenburg area and five minority participations of 25.1% in the areas of Cottbus, Freiburg, Konstanz, Saarbrucken, Trier and Würzburg. In total the companies generated revenues of EUR 116 million in 2008.
Source: Dow Jones, www.dowjones.com
TNT opens Wuhan road hub
18 June 2009
TNT today inaugurated a road hub in Wuhan, Hubei Province, which will improve its road distribution network in central China.
The regional hub will be managed by TNT’s wholly owned subsidiary TNT Hoau.
The facility marks another milestone in the development of TNT’s Chinese domestic delivery arm, following the introduction of a day-definite ground service in February 2009.
TNT plans to open 10 regional road hubs over the next five years to tap into China’s growing domestic economy, which is still expected to grow by 6 percent in 2009.
The 46,620 sq m hub is located at the Wuhan Dongxihu Bonded Logistics Centre, at the geographic and economic heart of central China. It will enable TNT to reduce delivery times of its key line-hauls in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing city by up to two days, at 10 percent lower operational cost.
The Wuhan Dongxihu Bonded Logistics Centre supported the establishment of TNT Hoau’s regional hub.
The hub not only fulfils the operational requirements of TNT Hoau, but also has the advanced features of an international road distribution hub, making it an industry-leading logistics facility in China.
The Wuhan Dongxihu Bonded Logistics Centre is the fourth bonded logistics centre in China, after Suzhou, Beijing, and Nanjing. It will allow Wuhan to enjoy the treatment of an international free trade port in central China.
“This is all about increasing the competitiveness of our services to bring even greater value to our customers in China,” said Michael Drake, regional managing director of TNT North Asia.
“Our continued investment in TNT Hoau, despite the current economic challenges, is a clear demonstration of our focus to be the market leader, and will be critical to TNT’s continued success in China.
“The increasing Chinese domestic consumption will drive a greater need for faster, more comprehensive and consistent road services, and the mega-hubs will place TNT Hoau in an even stronger position to tap on the future growth of this market.”
TNT Hoau, a 100 percent subsidiary of TNT China, plays a crucial role in TNT’s strategy, and operates China’s most extensive private domestic road transportation network, which consists of 56 domestic hubs serving 1,260 depots, and covering over 500 Chinese cities.
Source: Cargonews Asia, www.cargonewsasia.com