UPS is pushing through with its expansion in the Asia Pacific as it announced a new hub in the Philippines.

The hub — which will expand its operations at Clark Airport (CRK) — will help UPS further speed time in transit for imports, exports and trans-shipments.

The move also brings the logistics firm's value of its investment commitments in Asia Pacific to over US$250 million since the start of 2023.

UPS noted the new hub will also enable UPS to further strengthen its portfolio of integrated express, supply chain and healthcare logistics services — further enhancing its Asia Pacific network and enabling its customers to grow and capitalize on trade lane shifts.

"Asia Pacific continues to be one of UPS' fastest growing regions. UPS has continued to invest in our network to maximize speed and flexibility, build solutions addressing the shift of global trade lanes, and offer resilience for our customers," said Wilfredo Ramos, president, of UPS Asia Pacific.

UPS noted that the agreement is the latest in a series of recent network and facility enhancements the company has made across the Asia Pacific, including in Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, and most recently Hong Kong, where UPS announced it will open a new state-of-the-art facility by 2028.

"We have been doing business in our Philippines hub for more than 25 years, helping to connect businesses to markets in Asia Pacific and beyond. The investments UPS continues to make through this expansion will enhance time in transit across Asia Pacific and continue to deliver service reliability for our customers and position UPS for long term growth," Ramos added.

UPS said in the announcement that since 2022, it has also invested intensively in its Healthcare business introducing UPS Premier — which provides priority handling for time- and temperature-sensitive, patient-critical products — in nine markets across the Asia Pacific region.

In 2023, the company added over 22,000 square meters of cold-chain-enabled handling, storage and distribution space via new healthcare facilities in Singapore and Australia.

An additional 12,000 square meters is planned for 2024.

Josephine Gotianun Yap, chairperson of the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corporation (LIPAD), said this partnership between UPS and LIPAD also represents a significant milestone in developing Clark as an ideal logistics hub for global brands aiming to establish or expand their international operations.

"LIPAD, which operates Clark International Airport, looks forward to welcoming UPS to its future location in Clark and supports its expansion in the Philippines," Yap added.

Construction of the new Clark hub is set to begin in February 2025, and it is expected to be operational in late 2026.