TNT will establish a strategic partnership with Cosco Group, China’s largest shipping company. Furthermore, TNT will introduce two Boeing 747 aircraft into its fleet to service routes between Europe and China.
TNT, a global provider of courier, logistics, and postal services, will begin cooperation with Cosco Group, the second-largest shipping company in the world by turnover. Both companies intend to jointly provide logistics services in the Asia-Pacific region.
TNT and Cosco will establish a joint venture. Its goal will be to achieve a leading position in supply chain management in the Asia-Pacific region – a letter of intent has already been signed in this regard. The partnership with TNT Express will ensure Cosco further strengthens its position in the Asia-Pacific logistics market, while allowing TNT to intensify its operations both in China and the entire region. Combining the strengths of both entities will allow for the creation of a comprehensive offering and provide customers with a vast geographical reach of services.
The company, in which each entity will hold a 50 percent stake, will begin operations in 2006. The warehouse space it administers will amount to 1 million square meters, and the number of employees will reach 1,000. Cosco will contribute its knowledge of the Chinese market, customer base, and domestic operational network to the partnership, while TNT will provide its global network, industry-leading IT solutions, and logistics know-how along with value-added services – all to offer customers transparent, comprehensive supply chain management solutions.
In line with its strategy for the Chinese market, TNT will also introduce two Boeing 747 aircraft into service, operating direct connections between China and Europe. The brand-new B 747-400 ERF machines, with a payload capacity of 100 tons, will be put into operation next year. This investment will allow TNT to ensure optimal capacity on these routes: up to 1,250 tons per week. Boeing 747s are the largest aircraft used by leading courier companies in the world. These will also be the first machines of this type in TNT’s corporate orange and white livery. Until now, TNT has mainly used wide-body Airbus A300 series aircraft in its fleet. Products from the Seattle-based American company have been in TNT’s equipment for many years, but due to the fact that they were mainly used for European routes, they were smaller Boeing 737 machines with a payload capacity of 23 tons.