Dimerco Express Group (中菲行國際物流), which offers global freight-forwarding and logistics services, yesterday said that it expects sales this year to grow by a double-digit percentage from last year, as labor disruptions in US west coast ports drive up air cargo demand and rates.
The company, which generates about 70 percent of its consolidated revenue from air freight, posted a consolidated revenue of NT$15.73 billion (US$497.78 million) last year, an increase of 12.2 percent from 2013, it said in a statement.
The group expects its growth momentum to continue this year, as a labor dispute in the US west coast since October last year has delayed shipping and driven up transportation costs.
“The labor dispute has driven up air freight by 15 percent over the past week,” Dimerco Express vice president Andy Hsu (徐孝九) said during a meeting with reporters yesterday.
In addition, the group’s move to seek merger and acquisition deals in the US and Europe could further boost sales, Hsu said.
Dimerco Express chief executive officer Edward Lin (林天送) said that continuous expansion could help the group’s consolidated sales hit US$1 billion by 2019 — a medium-term target set by group chairman Paul Chien (錢堯懷).
THI Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際投資控股), another major freight-forwarding and logistics services provider, also aims to raise its business through expansion, especially in Southeast Asia.
THI Global set up a subsidiary in Singapore earlier this month to serve as its ASEAN operations headquarters.
“The investment in Singapore could help support the company’s market expansion in the ASEAN region and mark a milestone for the company’s logistics plan in the area,” THI Global said in a statement.
THI Global’s consolidated sales reached NT$9.72 billion last year, up 17.34 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s financial data.
In November last year, THI Global chairman David Yen (顏益財) said the company has set an annual consolidated sales target of NT$10 billion for this year, as well as increase the number of its global bases from 70 to 100 in five years.
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