Borderless ASEAN to boost cargo trade

Borderless ASEAN to boost cargo trade

SINGAPORE (Reuter): A borderless system for customs control in
the seven member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) would be a major boost for cargo shippers, an
industry executive said yesterday.

"The main difficulties are the accessorial charges for
different regions and inconsistencies in customs applications,"
said Peter Winslow, general manager for Singapore with United
Parcels Service of America Inc.

"ASEAN has agreed to streamline customs procedures and that
will be great for us," he told reporters.

Winslow said removing bureaucracy in the seven nation bloc
grouping Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam would lower costs for carriers.

Asian revenues for UPS were about US$1.2 billion in 1996, or
about 5.3 percent of the company's US$22.5 billion global
revenues that year.

Winslow said service was seen as a determining factor in
winning and retaining business, but rates remained important.

"I think the market likes to see us holding down our rates.
But we believe we can also generate revenues through better
service," he said.

Winslow said the last UPS rate rise was in January 1995 and
the company had no plans to raise them in 1997 or 1998.

"They'll be no increase in the foreseeable future," he said.

With a share of about 15 to 20 percent in the express parcels
business regionally and roughly the same in Singapore, Winslow
estimated UPS was growing at about 20 to 30 percent through the
region.

Investing in a new Singapore $800,000 automated dimensional
weighing system (DWS) at its Singapore distribution hub was part
of the UPS commitment to customer service, Winslow said.

"The system increases productivity and accuracy, thereby
translating to service enhancement for our customers," he said.

UPS can handle more than 2,000 packages per hour at its 16,000
square feet facility in Singapore. The DWS system handles
packages 17 seconds faster and is more accurate in its
calculations than manual procedures.

It is now used in most UPS operations worldwide.