"Hanjin Strengthens Overseas Direct Purchase to Attract Chinese Volume"

"Direct Purchase Volume Expected to More Than Double"

Hanjin is strengthening its cross-border courier service by newly acquiring shipment volumes from Chinese e-commerce companies. As a result, the volume of air overseas direct purchase shipments is expected to more than double after mid-August.

The company anticipates explosive growth in overseas direct purchase volumes, including from China, starting this year. In preparation, it doubled the number of express cargo inbound lines at the Incheon Airport GDC (Global Distribution Center) located in the Incheon Airport Free Trade Zone from 2 to 4 last year. This expansion enables handling up to 1.2 million shipments per month. This facility processes most of Hanjin’s air overseas direct purchase shipments.

Inside view of Incheon International Airport GDC
Photo by Hanjin

The existing air overseas direct purchase volume at Incheon Airport GDC was about 400,000 shipments per month, mainly from the United States. With the newly acquired 500,000 shipments from Chinese e-commerce, it is expected to handle over 900,000 air overseas direct purchase shipments monthly.

Incheon Airport GDC has its own air express customs clearance center, allowing it to provide stable delivery services despite the surge in overseas direct purchase volumes. To minimize the most inconvenient aspect of overseas direct purchases?waiting?the company is the first in the industry to offer same-day arrival service in Seoul for items cleared through customs by 12 noon at Incheon Airport GDC.

Incheon International Airport GDC Exterior View [Photo by Hanjin]

Chinese-origin overseas direct purchases rank first in both volume and value. According to the Korea Customs Service’s "2022 Overseas Direct Purchase Status" released last February, China ranked first with 48.3% of shipments by volume in 2020, growing rapidly to 54.6% in 2021 and 57.7% in 2022. By value, China also topped the list with 36.2% in 2022.

A Hanjin official stated, "The cross-border courier market is expanding significantly, with increasing volumes of overseas direct purchases from China. Hanjin is fully committed to customer satisfaction by securing new shipment volumes and proactively preparing for market changes."