FedEx Upgrades Asia-Middle East Service

FedEx Express is expanding its freighter service between Asia and the Middle East through India, speeding up shipment transit times by up to two days for connections from the Indian subcontinent to the Persian Gulf.

FedEx said it will start operating an A310 freighter five days a week out of Guangzho through Mumbai and Delhi in India and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The flights will connect to services stretching from Afghanistan to Qatar.

That will allow FedEx to provide faster delivery for International Priority shipments out of major Asia-Pacific points, including the carrier’s broad retail services and the freight service aimed at industrial customers and freight forwarders.

FedEx said merchandise trade between Asia and the Middle East was worth $668 billion in 2010 and said forecasts project economic growth rates in each region will outpace average global GDP growth over the next 20 years.