TOKYO: Japanese freight-shipping and parcel-delivery companies have decided to push services overseas in an effort to challenge the European and U.S. giants that dominate the business. Japan Post Holdings Co. said Wednesday that it had agreed to acquire Australian logistics company Toll Holdings Ltd. for $5.1 billion. A day earlier, Kintetsu World Express Inc., a Japanese airfreight operator, said it had agreed to buyAPL Logistics Inc. from Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. for $1.2 billion.
“These deals give the Japanese firms a vast presence in the Asian markets, where the Europeans have already been very active,” said John Manners-Bell, chief executive of research firm Transport Intelligence. Japan Post’s acquisition was the company’s first significant overseas deal. The transaction will vault the company to the No. 5 global spot in the logistics industry by revenue, up from its current position at No. 8, Japan Post said. Deutsche Post AG of Germany, the U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. are the sector’s top four global competitors, according to data collected by Japan Post.
