Alibaba’s Cainiao Partners with Atlas Air To Launch Asia to South America Charter Program
Cainiao Smart Logistics Network announced a partnership to launch a charter program with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. on Tuesday to enhance its logistics network as cross-border trade between China and Latin America continues to expand.
Starting from November, US-based cargo airline Atlas Air will operate three weekly charter flights dedicated to Cainiao, linking China with Brazil and Chile, reducing the overall shipping time from a week to three days on average, according to Cainiao, the logistics arm of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
“Our partnership with Atlas Air will help us establish an efficient, reliable network to South America and other worldwide destinations by significantly reducing airfreight delivery time for the merchants we support,” said William Xiong, Cainiao’s chief strategist and general manager of export logistics.
John Dietrich, president and CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide, said he’s “excited to support Cainiao and Alibaba’s fast-growing e-commerce business and its global expansion in South America.”
“The global scale of our operating networks will enable Cainiao to continue to enhance its logistics capabilities and meet its objectives to offer customers faster deliveries globally.”
In the third quarter of 2020, Cainiao’s parcel volume to South America reached over 8 million packages, double the number transported during the second quarter of this year.
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region’s trade with China hit record levels in 2018, on both the import and export sides, which rose to 3% and 2.6% of GDP, respectively.
China continues to be the most important export market for South America and remains second to the United States for exports from the LAC region overall, according to the Global Development Policy Center of Boston University.
Cainiao has been launching direct routes to major regions across the globe. Last month, it announced a partnership with BEST Inc. to launch an end-to-end logistics service between Malaysia and China to shorten delivery time for cross-border e-commerce parcels.
Cainiao is expected to operate about 1,300 chartered flights by the end of 2020.
