New UPS venture adds China customers

United Parcel Service Inc. is setting up a joint venture in China to haul more U.S.-bound goods and capitalize on booming e-commerce in the world’s most populous nation.

The partnership with S.F. Holding Co. will offer customers more routes, shipping capacity and service options, the companies said in a statement. S.F. Holding and UPS will each invest $5 million in the 50-50 venture, the Chinese company said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange.

The deal gives the U.S. courier access to S.F. Holding’s network of 13,000 customers, many of them small and midsize Chinese companies, UPS Chief Executive Officer David Abney said Friday on Bloomberg TV. It also offers a stronger foothold in one of the world’s hottest markets for online retailing. The initial focus will be on deliveries going from China to the U.S.

“We are equally as impressed and looking forward to U.S-to-China, and then, of course, China to the rest of the world and back,” Abney said. “One plus one equals a lot more than two in this case.”

UPS employs about 6,400 people in China and operates more than 200 flights to and from the country weekly, primarily providing import and export services.