August 18, 2026, DHL Express, a leading international express delivery provider, announced the full completion of its superhub expansion at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. The project represents a total investment of $204 million (approximately RMB 1.47 billion) - DHL's largest single investment in mainland China to date. The expanded hub's daily processing capacity has increased to 992 tons, triple the previous level, with annual throughput projected to exceed 286,000 tons, roughly 10 times the original Shenzhen hub's capacity.
This marks the third major upgrade of DHL's Shenzhen hub - from an initial small processing center, to the first expansion in 2010, to this $204 million comprehensive upgrade, completing a leap from hundreds of tons to nearly a thousand tons in daily capacity. The expanded facility is equipped with high-speed automated sorting systems, automated warehousing equipment, robotic arms, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), enabling efficient loading, storage, processing, inspection, and monitoring of parcels and oversized cargo.
DHL Express Global CEO John Pearson stated in the official press release: "China remains a major engine of global trade and a key component of DHL's global network. This investment reflects our long-term commitment to this dynamic market."
The Shenzhen hub primarily serves clients in high-tech, semiconductors, life sciences and healthcare, and EV battery sectors - industries with high-value, time-sensitive products such as AI data center chips, medical devices, and next-generation batteries - whose export demand is driving structural growth in air freight. E-commerce sellers are also key customers of DHL's air network, as the expansion of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms in European and American markets continues to raise the bar for small-parcel delivery speed.
In tandem with the hub expansion, DHL launched a new scheduled cargo route operated by Boeing 767 wide-body freighters, connecting Shanghai, Bangkok, Bahrain, and Brussels, further opening air cargo corridors between China and key markets across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
