Mike King, Special Correspondent | May 02, 2012 10:18AM EDT
BDP International will expand its operations in western and northern China later this year.
The Philadelphia-based logistics company is extending its network as manufacturers migrate away from the southern coast where land and labor costs continue to rise.
New operations are due to be launched in the burgeoning manufacturing towns of Wuhan and Chengdu where customers demand is on the rise.
“Wuhan is the Chicago of China: the future crossroads of major inland transport routes,” said Gary Chan. Managing Director – North Asia. “We’ll open there in June offering booking processing and various other customer services.
“Chengdu is planned for the third quarter, but if our customer delays then we may put this back.”
BDP is also expanding into Dandong on the border of North Korea, where the provincial government has been offering manufacturing companies huge financial incentives to locate.
Audio giant Harman recently moved much of its Mexico and UK production to the city’s free trade zone, where it has built its largest facility in the world. “They are a big customer so we’ve sent a team there to help with the transition,” said Chan.
“Production starts in three months. It is aimed at exports so we’ll use the port of Dalian.”
He predicted more companies would move to the China-North Korea border in search of cost savings. “The infrastructure is there already,” he added.
Contact Mike King at michael@borderline.eu.com.