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Published on October 26, 2007

FedEx Corp foresees bright prospects for its business in Thailand, where it plans an expansion of its cargo transport stations next year.

David Carden, managing director for Thailand and Indochina, believes that operating results in Indochina will grow in line with economic conditions. The Kingdom is the most important market for FedEx in the region, he said.

"Although global business is confronted with an economic slowdown, especially in the US, I still see growth in Indochina countries," Carden said. "However, I can't give you an exact number for percentage growth or estimated revenue for this FedEx fiscal year."

In the last fiscal year ending in May, FedEx Corp had US$35.2 billion (Bt1.2 trillion) in revenue, up 9 per cent from the previous year. In its first fiscal quarter this year, it posted revenue of $9.2 billion, an increase of 8 per cent from the same period last year.

He said that although Vietnam is now speeding up to compete with Thailand, he still rated the Kingdom as having the best air express transportation system in the region - due mainly to strong support for logistics from the government.

Carden added that FedEx was planning to increase its transport stations in big cities and industrial zones, adding to the current operations in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Nakhon Ratchasima and Laem Chabang. However, he could not reveal the extent of the investment.

FedEx also established a cargo-handling facility at Suvarnabhumi Airport last year.

He said FedEx had no plan to adjust its service charges at the moment, despite oil prices in the world market being on the rise. The oil factor affects all express courier companies.

"If we increase our service charges, it would affect our customers. So we choose to decrease other operational costs instead to allow FedEx businesses to survive," said Carden.

In Thailand, Carden said FedEx would focus on small and medium-sized enterprise customers by providing more efficient access to all European Union markets.

He added that FedEx in the Asia-Pacific region was shifting its AsiaOne Hub - the company's major transportation base in Asia - from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Guangzhou in China, from where it will start full operations this December.

"Our transportation base in the Philippines was under restrictions to expand its operation area, while China has the fastest economic growth in the world and more area to expand both runways and transportation cargo stations. Compared with the US, growth in the Asia Pacific is the fastest in the air express transportation industry," he said.

In May, FedEx announced the expansion of its International Priority Freight Service from Thailand and the Asia Pacific to an additional 27 countries. This expansion has increased freight coverage to more than 90 countries.

Nalin Viboonchart

The Nation