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• FedEx Supports Readiness, Response, and Recovery for Communities Affected by Disasters and Other Crises, from 1:31PM ET on Wednesday Jul 17, 2024 by Dow Jones

  1:31PM ET on Wednesday Jul 17, 2024 by Dow Jones
  Companies Mentioned: FDX
  
  NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 17, 2024 / FedEx Corporation
  
  Originally published in FedEx's 2023 FedEx Cares Report
  
  Integrating mental health and psychosocial support into emergency response
  

• DJ Correction to The World's Top Airport Might Surprise You -- Barrons.com, from 11:23AM ET on Wednesday Jul 17, 2024 by Dow Jones

  11:23AM ET on Wednesday Jul 17, 2024 by Dow Jones
  Companies Mentioned: FDX, RBGLY, JNJ, UPS
  By Andy Serwer A business trivia question for you: What's the biggest airport in the world? If you answered Hartsfield -- Jackson Atlanta International Airport, you'd be half right. Hartsfield-Jackson is the No. 1 airport globally in terms of passengers, with 104 million travelers flying in and out there last year according to the Airports Council International. Atlanta, the power hub of Delta, the world's biggest airline, is so familiar to U.S. frequent fliers that some have been known to quip: "When I die, I don't know if I'm going to heaven or hell, but I do know I'll be going through Hartsfield." There is another top dog when it comes to cargo, however. It's Hong Kong International Airport. Last year some 4.3 million tons of goods were shipped via air through Hong Kong. Memphis, Tenn., home to FedEx, came in No. 2 with 3.8 million tons. On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I sat down with Cissy Chan, executive director, commercial, of the Hong Kong International Airport, who oversees its freight operations. "This is the 13th time that we are crowned as the world's busiest cargo airport," Chan proudly tells me, sitting in a glass conference room overlooking the construction of a massive new third runway set to be completed this year. Two factors have been driving Hong Kong's success, according to Chan: connectivity and efficiency. "Within five hours of flying time, we can reach half of the world's population," she says. "We are connected to 220 destinations, including 30 in mainland China. The Greater Bay Area is now home to 80 million people which has both strong production and consumption growth trends," Chan says, making the Hong Kong airport "a double gateway." The Greater Bay Area includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine neighbouring cities in mainland China. As for efficiency, Chan says the airport can accept freight up to three hours before take off. Documentation is all electronic, which is atypical. "Surprisingly, this industry in many parts of the world, is still quite paper-based," she notes. The other important point is Hong Kong customs which operates 24 hours, round the clock, which again, isn't happening everywhere. "Some countries only have customer service 12 hours of the day," she says. What's being shipped in all those planes? Mostly machinery parts, particularly spare parts, as well as semiconductors and telecom products and electronic gadgets, Chan says. About 19% of trade from the airport flows in and out of North America, its single biggest market. Duncan Chan, (no relation to Cissy) manager of ground services at the airport, takes me through the vast 1.8 million square foot Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd terminal -- one of several such structures at the airport -- humming with automated robotic systems and run via a control center that looks like something out of NASA. "You've only seen about a third of it," Duncan Chan tells me after a brisk hourlong tour of the facility, which can handle 2.6 million tons a year. What about the elephant in the terminal? Are Hong Kong's new laws which crimp political freedom and Hong Kong's increasing incorporation into mainland China, as well as U.S./China political tensions, hurting business? Certainly other facets of the Hong Kong economy have been hit by these concerns. Hong Kong's Hang Seng stock market index is down some 42% from its 2021 peak, versus a 25% gain for the S&P 500 over the same period. "I think this is indeed a very good question," Cissy Chan says. "The global air cargo industry is definitely affected by macro economics. I don't think we will be able to refute the economics or the big picture. But I will say we are rather resilient." Growth at the Hong Kong airport -- tonnage shipped was up 3% last year -- underscores that while politicians and political leaders posture and talk, business people and consumers continue to trade and buy goods. Trade is happening regardless of politics, Chan points out. "We are only a hub, where shippers prefer to ship their goods to different parts of the world, no matter where they are coming from and where they're going. So I'm not particularly worried. I think in the last couple of years, we proved that we will continue to be able to serve the market." Chan, who earlier in her career worked at Johnson and Johnson and British packed goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, doesn't appear to be planning for any sort of slowdown." UPS just signed a deal with us last year. They are going to build a dedicated hub here. It will be about a million tons a year, just like the DHL terminal, and is targeted to be completed in 2028." With the new runway set to open later this year, there is room to grow. That 4.3 million tons shipped last year is still 10% below the volume shipped in 2019, prepandemic, (Memphis experienced a similar drop.) And while the 4.3 million tons accounts for 48% of Hong Kong's trade value, it's only 2% of Hong Kong's freight volume (the other 98% is mostly containers coming in and out on ships and trucks.) Politics be damned. It's up, up and away with trade! Write to Andy Serwer at andy.serwer@barrons.com This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Corrections & Amplifications Cissy Chan, executive director, commercial, of the Hong Kong International Airport, said the Greater Bay Area is now home to 80 million people. An earlier version of this article misquoted her as referring to the greater Hong Kong area. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 17, 2024 11:23 ET (15:23 GMT)