Building a Logistics Hub in an Inland City

Text by He Fan

Photos by He Jingxing & Zhou Guoqiang

One

In 2014,SF Express planned to build its own cargo airport.

After careful investigation,SF Express selected Ezhou City in Hubei Province.As the smallest prefecture-level city in inland China,Ezhou,60 kilometers away from Wuhan,covers a landmass of 1,594 square kilometers and has a population of over 1.1 million.

The city of Ezhou was chosen for its underdeveloped airspace resources and less occupied passenger air routes,which would be favorable to cargo operations at the airport.When Ezhou’s SF International Airport is complete,it will have a dualhub function of passenger and freight transportation in the Wuhan city circle.Moreover,the seamless link of all sorts of transportation facilities,including airports,expressways,the Beijing-Guangzhou railway,the Wuhan-Huangshi intercity railway,and the Yangtze River golden waterway,will form a dense and highly efficient transportation hub.However,the cargo volume in and around Wuhan is insufficient to support the airport.If the Ezhou Airport wants to achieve success,it has to establish itself as the central hub of China,or even the whole world,so as to increase its supply of goods moving through the facility.And Wuhan needs to become a “central market” in China.

Two

Based on international experience,a logistics center doesn’t have to be set up in a harbor city.For example,Zaragoza is a Spanish city located 250 kilometers away from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.Despite its distance from the ocean,it was still singled out by the well-known international clothing brand,Zara,as their distribution center.Furthermore,Caladero,the largest marine products company in Spain,delivers 200,000 tonnes of fish here every year.

Ezhou Huahu Airport,Asia’s first specialized cargo airport,under construction建設中的鄂州花湖機場是亞洲首個專業貨運機場

一

2014年，順豐速運想建自己的機場。

他們選來選去，選中了湖北鄂州市。這是中國內陸最小的地級市，總面積1594 平方公里，人口110多萬，與武漢市中心直線距離60公里。

選擇鄂州，因為這座小城空域資源、客運航線并不緊張，有利于貨運機場作業。鄂州順豐國際機場建成之后，將在武漢城市圈內形成一個航空客貨雙樞紐格局。機場、高速公路、京廣鐵路、武黃城際鐵路、長江黃金水道，各種運輸方式無縫銜接，形成了一套繁密、高效的聯運系統，但僅靠武漢周邊貨運量，不足以支撐整個機場。鄂州順豐國際機場要想辦得成功，就要建成全國乃至國際中轉中心，靠中轉帶動貨源增加。武漢，需要成為全中國的“中心市場”。

二

從國際經驗來看，物流中心不一定是港口城市。西班牙薩拉戈薩，距大西洋和地中海都有大約250 公里距離。著名服裝品牌商Zara 把自己全球配送中心設在這里；西班牙最大海產品公司Caladero 每年送20萬噸魚到這座城市。

為什么它們會青睞薩拉戈薩呢？第一，薩拉戈薩之前有個美軍機場，后來改成貨運機場。薩拉戈薩機場是航空貨運的天下，沒有客運，貨機可以盡情起降。第二，雖然薩拉戈薩不是大城市，但它離大城市都不遠。

Why Zaragoza? Firstly,a military airport set up by the US armed forces in Zaragoza was later turned into a cargo airport.With no civil aviation flights in the city,it is an ideal location for cargo airplanes to take off and land anytime.Secondly,Zaragoza,though not a big city itself,is not far from big cities.

Similarly,Wuhan boasts a unique geographical advantage in China’s economic landscape.Taking Wuhan as the center,a circle with a radius of 1,000 kilometers covers five nationallevel city clusters that account for 90% of China’s GDP and 80% of the Chinese population.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,pressure has been posed on China’s logistics infrastructure,testing its capability of delivering essential supplies in case of emergency.A huge cluster of cargo air fleets should be able to mobilize hundreds of airplanes to dispatch emergency supplies almost at an instance.If any Chinese city is to be selected as a supply chain platform for emergency supplies,Wuhan definitely stands out among others.

Three

Logistics hubs will naturally attract relevant industrial clusters.When FedEx moved its headquarters to Memphis in the central US,an industrial chain ranging from scientific research,processing and manufacturing,and warehouse logistics emerged in the neighboring areas.According to Robert G.Carson,Vice President of Medtronic,the reason why they came to Memphis was to stay close to the young logistics company called FedEx.

Logistics hubs can and will reshape entire markets,and the market network will become more closely connected.For example,the two previously mentioned enterprises—Zara and Caladero—have formed a peculiar alliance with the Zaragoza Logistics Park.Caladero catches fish from all over Africa and sends them to Johannesburg before shipping them to Spain.

As the consumer demand grows more diversified and individualized,the global supply chain will embrace radical changes.With the change in consumer demand,the supply chain will be closer to consumers in the future,and the era of a logistics boom in China is coming.

According to the national plan,there will be a “national one-twothree traffic circle” (one hour to commute in CBD,two hours to reach city clusters,and three hours to connect with major cities in China) and a “global one-two-three express logistics circle” (one day for domestic delivery,two days for neighboring countries,and three days for major cities across the world) in China by 2035.Logistics,once a weak field in China’s economy,is gradually becoming one of the most outstanding competitive advantages for operating in China.

Over the past few years,China has witnessed faster development in inland cities than in coastal cities.Many inland cities,like Chengdu,Hefei,Zhengzhou,Wuhan,Xi’an,or even the remote Guiyang and Ulanqab,have yielded brilliant results.Besides,some manufacturing and hi-tech companies are also relocating inland.

In the future,new infrastructure projects will also be tilted towards inland sites,and China’s economic network will grow tighter and firmer than ever before.

Entering an era of localization,a batch of logistics centers will rise sharply in inland areas.It is not only a policy of adjustment,but a strategic vision of development.

(FromVariables:Survival Strategies in an Era of Localization,Elephant Press.Translation:Zhu Yaguang)

Ezhou Huahu Airport,Asia’s first specialized cargo airport,under construction建設中的鄂州花湖機場是亞洲首個專業貨運機場

按照這樣的思路，在中國經濟版圖上，武漢有獨特區位優勢。以這里為圓點，1000 公里半徑，可以覆蓋占中國90%GDP 和80%人口的五大國家級城市群。

2020年疫情考驗中國物流，考驗其在緊急情況下輸送急缺物資的能力。大集群貨運機隊，要能在瞬間調集上百架飛機，迅速運送應急物資。如果要在全國找一個城市作為應急物資供應鏈平臺，武漢是上上之選。

三

物流中心會帶來產業集群。聯邦快遞將總部搬到美國中部孟菲斯時，孟菲斯周邊涌現出從科研、加工制造到倉儲、物流的產業鏈。全球領先醫療科技公司美敦力副總裁羅伯特·卡森說，當初來到孟菲斯，就是“為了能跟一家叫聯邦快遞的年輕公司離得更近”。

物流中心重塑市場網絡，網絡中各個節點的聯系會變得更加緊密。比如，薩拉戈薩物流園區兩家企業Zara 和Caladero，結成了一種奇特聯盟。Caladero 從非洲各地捕撈的魚，先送到約翰內斯堡，再運到西班牙。

當消費者需求更多元化、個性化之后，全球供應鏈會發生重大變化。隨著需求變化，未來供應鏈會離消費者更近，中國物流大爆發時代即將到來。

按照國家規劃，到2035年，中國將形成“全國123 出行交通圈”（都市區1 小時通勤、城市群2 小時通達、全國主要城市3 小時覆蓋）和“全球123 快貨物流圈”（國內1 天送達、周邊國家2 天送達、全球主要城市3 天送達）。物流，將從過去的短板變成中國經濟最突出的競爭優勢之一。

近年來，內陸中心城市的發展速度超過不少沿海城市。成都、合肥、鄭州、武漢、西安，甚至貴陽、烏蘭察布都成了耀眼的新星。制造業和高科技企業在向內地遷徙。

展望未來，新的基礎設施項目會進一步向內陸地區傾斜。中國經濟網絡，將被編織得更加牢固、緊密。

本土時代，在內陸地區會崛起一批物流中心。這是一種格局調整，更是一種戰略遠見。

（摘自《變量：本土時代的生存策略》大象出版社）