New UPS distribution center in Taiwan doubles capacity, productivity

United Parcel Service on Wednesday unveiled its largest and most advanced logistics center in Asia Pacific, a nearly $100 million investment that demonstrates the company’s continued investment in critical infrastructure even as it downsizes its shipping network and reduces overall capital expenditures.

The 872,000-square foot automated distribution center in Taiwan more than doubles UPS’s warehouse footprint in Taiwan. It is located three miles from Taoyuan International Airport, where shipments can reach global markets via 22 freighter flights UPS operates in and out of Taipei each week.

UPS said the Taoyuan International Logistics Center will support high-value sectors such as semiconductors and medical technology. UPS has increasingly placed a strategic focus on B2B logistics sectors with high margins, including healthcare and technology, and international package service. Applied Materials, a major semiconductor and display equipment company, uses the TILC as its Asia continental distribution center.

The building features a fleet of autonomous mobile robots, which are programmed to carry out tasks such as pick and pack, and inventory management. The robots are leading to significant productivity gains, according to UPS. For example, once a customer order arrives at the TILC, it can be processed and packed onto shelves roughly 40% faster than current processing speeds. Customers can also double the number of products they can stack in the equivalent space on regular shelving. Meanwhile, errors made during the order picking process are reduced to near zero.

The Taiwan logistics center is the latest in a series of investments by UPS in its Asia Pacific network to facilitate efficient cross-border trade. In October, UPS opened a 20,000 square foot package center in Penang, Malaysia, and increased the size of its existing hub at Penang Airport to boost parcel processing capacity.

UPS has reduced spending for capital expenditures from $3.9 billion in 2024 to a projected $3 billion in 2026.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.