DHL puts its stamp on APAC logistics at Incheon center

INCHEON — A network of conveyor belts that spans 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) was tirelessly whirling at the DHL Incheon Gateway on Tuesday, readying itself to receive tens of thousands of parcels.

An automated sorter sorts international courier documents at DHL Express' Incheon Gateway at Incheon International Airport, which officially opened Tuesday. [DHL EXPRESS KOREA]

INCHEON — A network of conveyor belts that spans 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) was tirelessly whirling at the DHL Incheon Gateway on Tuesday, readying itself to receive tens of thousands of parcels and get them delivered to waiting recipients all around the world, including Korea.

This is where 28,400 pieces can be handled per hour, including business-to-consumer shipments like overseas online shopping and reverse logistics.

DHL Express invested 131 million euros ($140.8 million) to expand the Incheon Gateway, which entered full-scale operations Tuesday.

DHL Express has tripled the capacity of its Incheon Gateway at Incheon International Airport cargo terminal. [DHL EXPRESS KOREA]

Distinguished by its symbolic yellow emblem within the bustling cargo terminal of Korea's largest airport, the Gateway now boasts three times its previous size, expanding from 19,946 square meters to 59,248 square meters — positioning itself as DHL's largest gateway in the Asia-Pacific region.

Despite the three-fold increase in size, the number of employees at the gateway remains relatively scarce, only with around 400 permanent staff. This is due to the incorporation of cutting-edge technology, including doubling the number of automatic X-ray machines from 9 to 19 and extending the conveyor belt length from 1.0 kilometer to 5.5 kilometers, resulting in faster and more efficient handling of import and export goods.

One of the most significant transformations arising from this expansion is the automated sorting of document cargo.

"Previously, export documents and small cargo were manually sorted at the local service center," a DHL representative said during a press tour at the Gateway on Tuesday. "However, after the expansion, it is now possible to process 10,000 document cargo items per hour through automated sorting equipment. This advancement has effectively reduced delivery times by over 30 minutes compared to the previous process."

"The primary cargo shipped out at the Incheon Gateway mainly consists of business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments related to K-culture, such as K-pop, Korean fashion and cosmetics," said Han Byung-koo, country manager of DHL Express Korea. "In addition to these, it also handles TDI [Time Definite International] services like pharmaceutical exports, including vaccines, and semiconductor shipments, among others."

Moreover, Incheon Gateway now forges global connections, utilizing seven dedicated aircraft and 40 commercial planes daily to meet the growing demand for cargo transshipment across the Northeast Asia region.

Han Byung-koo, country manager of DHL Express Korea, speaks during a press conference on Tuesday at the Incheon Gateway. [DHL EXPRESS KOREA]

DHL's decision to embark on this gateway expansion project was motivated by the growing demand for cargo services.

The expansion aligns seamlessly with the surge in international trade in Korea, coupled with an increase in international express import and export with Asia-Pacific countries, including Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and Taiwan. This need is further underscored by the growth of the B2C cargo sector, which has surged by approximately 820 percent from 2016 to 2022, driven by the burgeoning e-commerce market.

"Cargo volume through Incheon for import and export has increased by 72 percent over the past decade," Han said.

He further added, "The fastest-growing sector is cross-border cargo, including online shopping, which has shown no signs of decreasing in the past five years. We expect that the expansion of Incheon Gateway will provide a solid foundation for domestic cross-border e-commerce companies to flourish on the global stage."

"The opening of the expanded Incheon Gateway arrives at the right time as it plays an important role in facilitating regional and intra-Asia trade, particularly for the Northeast Asian region, including Dalian, Qingdao, Wuxi, Ulaanbaatar, and Guam," said Sean Wall, executive vice president of Network Operations and Aviation, Asia Pacific at DHL Express.

DHL, a global logistics company headquartered in Germany, operates a fleet of over 400 aircraft and processes around 1.5 billion shipments annually.

Alongside DHL, Incheon International Airport has been witnessing infrastructure expansions by major global logistics firms.

DHL's rival FedEx, the U.S.-based global logistics company, enlarged its cargo terminal at Incheon Airport to 2.4 times its previous size last year. It focuses on handling exports, imports and transshipment cargo.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]