United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) has inaugurated a new $100 million logistics center in Taiwan, its largest facility in the Asia-Pacific region, as demand linked to the technology sector continues to expand.
The new hub is located in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan, close to the island’s main international airport. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), the largest U.S. producer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, will use the facility as a distribution hub for its operations across Asia.
Lauren Zhao, president of UPS Asia Pacific Supply Chain Solutions and Freight Forwarding, said that about 80% of the freight handled at the site is tied to high-technology products. She added that Taiwan’s semiconductor sector is the most advanced globally, with the island leading many of the manufacturing processes used in the industry.
UPS currently runs its Taiwan operations through Taoyuan International Airport. Sam Hung, the company’s managing director for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, said the group is evaluating the possibility of adding flights to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, depending on future customer demand.
Taiwan is home to TSMC (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer and a key supplier of advanced semiconductors used in artificial intelligence technologies. Kaohsiung is also where TSMC is constructing a major new plant as part of a growing semiconductor manufacturing cluster in southern Taiwan.