FedEx upbeat on Thailand's logistics

FedEx upbeat on Thailand's logistics

Sector sees boost from SMEs, e-commerce and medical industry.

A FedEx Boeing 767 freighter N107FE at Snohomish County Airport. FedEx now serves e-commerce customers in several sectors such as jewellery, furniture and food in Thailand.
A FedEx Boeing 767 freighter N107FE at Snohomish County Airport. FedEx now serves e-commerce customers in several sectors such as jewellery, furniture and food in Thailand.

FedEx Thailand, the local unit of US-based FedEx Corporation, expects Thailand's logistics sector growth this year will outpace that of the country's GDP.

In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, David Carden, managing director of FedEx Express, Thailand and Indochina, said the company will focus on three high-growth sectors in Thailand -- small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), e-commerce and the medical industry.

He said Thailand's resilient economy consists of many SMEs with high potential to grow further, especially those in the export sector.

"These SMEs have products that have a lot of appeal to foreign customers and we expect very strong growth in this segment," Mr Carden said.

He said FedEx aimed to help these SMEs to expand their customer base by facilitating cross-border transportation and customs procedures.

Mr Carden said Thailand is facing an e-commerce boom. However, in terms of international markets it is not very active due to strong trade barriers.

Carden: Opportunities in a resilient economy

"The government is lowering barriers by reforming the customs procedures and so on, which is a step in the right direction. But we think it has to do more in order to support international trade," he said.

He said FedEx now serves e-commerce customers in several sectors such as jewellery, furniture and food in Thailand.

Mr Carden said FedEx also sees a great opportunity in the medical industry since Thailand imports a lot of medical devices to serve the growing medical sector.

"We have a number of customers who import medical devices and send them on to other countries for repairs, so that is another area that we will focus on," he said.

He said FedEx is well-equipped to handle the transportation and complicated customs procedures these products require since they are often very elaborate and contain many parts.

This year the company expects healthy performance for Thailand's logistics sector, forecasting the sector to grow more than GDP growth of 3-3.5%.

Mr Carden said the recent referendum, in which the majority of Thais accepted the draft constitution, also helped stabilise the market, which will help boost foreign direct investment in the long term.

Earlier this year, FedEx acquired Netherlands-based TNT Express-NV, the fourth-largest global parcel operator, he said.

The deal was worth US$4.8 billion.

He said TNT has a domestic logistics service in Thailand and since FedEx Thailand only offers international services, the move will help strengthen the company's operations in the country.

The two companies are beginning the process of full integration, which could take three or four years.

Mr Carden said FedEx has a presence in all Asean countries except Myanmar, which the company will tap into soon.

But Thailand will remain the major market with the highest growth for FedEx in the region because of its ability to export high-value products, he said.

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