On Aug. 5, 2018, the inaugural flight of the Wuhan-Chicago-Incheon-Wuhan round-trip flight, arranged by China-based Apex Logistics International Ltd., took off smoothly from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH). With this departure, Apex’s charter from Wuhan to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) will now increase from the original three flights per week to six flights per week. This charter service will greatly enhance the air cargo capacity out of Wuhan to North America, thereby expanding the growth and development of the surrounding regions’ economy and trade.
The Hubei Provincial Government and Wuhan Municipal Government have always focused on the efficient and orderly operation of the air cargo market, and actively promoted the rapid and sustainable development of the economy and key components of the logistics industry. The Provincial Public Security Bureau Airport Public Security Bureau, together with strong coordination and cooperation of the leaders from the provincial and municipal committees at all levels – including the customs, inspection and quarantine, and border protection – have provided efficient and convenient service support for this flight. To support this initiative, the Hubei Airport Group also further improved the infrastructure of related cargo stations and special equipment, providing comprehensive protection for the transportation and storage of goods. Thanks to the assistance of the provincial and municipal governments at all levels and the Hubei Airport Group, the commencement of the additional flights has been very smooth. Apex will continue to deepen the depth and breadth of its air cargo services and develop more and better airfreight routes, promoting a steady and rapid development of the economy in Hubei Province and surrounding areas.
The Wuhan-Chicago-Incheon-Wuhan flight, with thrice-weekly service, is operated with a 747-400F all-cargo aircraft. This service has become the first freight charter connecting China, South Korea and the United States. It can be further extended to include Japan and other South Korean airports, providing direct solutions for the increased logistics demand from these areas. After the flights are fully operational, the expected increased direct shipping capacity to Wuhan Tianhe Airport (WUH) is expected to be more than 20,000 tons per annum. It is anticipated that the Wuhan-Chicago-Incheon-Wuhan flight will be instrumental in providing an effective solution to the capacity demand of cross-border logistics out of Hubei Province and surrounding areas – by servicing a wide range of products, including semiconductors, precision manufacturing, perishables, high-tech devices, automobiles, e-commerce, and fashion retail. The contribution of this service to the establishment of Wuhan as the China Air Freight Center and promotion of its regional economic development will be significant.
This additional flight is Apex’s second intercontinental freighter charter out of WUH since the opening of the Wuhan-Chicago round-trip charter flight in December 2017. The smooth operation of these two charter routes has provided sufficient capacity for local cross-border logistics, greatly reduced the comprehensive cost of international transportation, and fundamentally solved the problem of import and export difficulties. In the future, Apex will continue to increase the layout of the route, deepen the development plan of Hubei and Wuhan in their “13th Five-Year Plan.” Relying on the airfreight business, Apex is developing its two industrial chains of modern logistics and air cargo services, centered on WUH and radiating to the world.
Apex Logistics Group is the 18th largest airfreight forwarding service provider in the world and the third largest in China. As a global leader in third-party logistics, Apex is committed to providing integrated supply chain management solutions for raw materials procurement, product manufacturing and finished-product distribution to its customers worldwide. With air transportation as its main business, and warehousing and distribution as supporting businesses, Apex is focused on intelligent logistics and service innovation. Having rich shipping knowledge and experience in fashion retail, imported perishables, high-tech electronic products, cross-border e-commerce, and other industry verticals, Apex has established itself as a large, innovative global logistics group. Over the past 17 years, Apex’s footprint has grown to 32 branches worldwide, including Greater China (plus Hong Kong and Taiwan), the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, Vietnam and Singapore. Its annual turnover has reached 6 billion RMB. Apex ‘s commitment is to drive economic growth through its logistics services. In addition to vigorously developing the Wuhan freight route, Apex‘s presence will accelerate the establishment of global brand customers into Wuhan, and thereby, truly growing the regional economy to achieve mutual benefit.
