UPS investing $2 billion in air hubs, healthcare logistics amid Amazon pullback

UPS is spending more than $2 billion to expand air-cargo hubs and logistics operations as it scales back low-margin deliveries that rely on Amazon.

The Atlanta-based shipping giant announced the $2 billion total on August 24, 2026, disclosing investments across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

The spending covers UPS’s International, Healthcare and Supply Chain Solutions businesses. It includes new air hubs in the Philippines and Hong Kong, an expanded facility at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport and new temperature-controlled facilities designed to move pharmaceuticals and other sensitive cargo between aircraft and ground transportation.

“Customers need end-to-end logistics that match their requirements for visibility, speed and ease,” said Kate Gutmann, UPS Executive Vice President and President of International, Healthcare and Supply Chain Solutions.

Gutmann said the investments would allow UPS to combine air transport, ground delivery, customs brokerage and distribution with fewer handoffs between providers.

UPS expands Asian air network

One of the largest projects is a new UPS hub at Clark International Airport (CRK) in the Philippines. The facility is expected to open during the fourth quarter of 2026 and will process imports, exports and cargo moving through the Philippines to other markets.

UPS has operated at Clark for more than 25 years. The new hub is intended to improve transit times within Asia-Pacific and connect the company’s express-package, supply-chain and healthcare logistics operations.

A larger air hub at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is scheduled for completion in 2028.

The fully automated facility will occupy approximately 20,000 square meters of space and provide direct access to aircraft. UPS said it is being designed to handle close to one million metric tons of cargo annually.

The Hong Kong hub will process imports, exports and transshipments moving between Asia, Europe and the United States. Its location will also provide access to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and China’s Greater Bay Area.

UPS broke ground on the Hong Kong facility earlier in 2026.

The company has also completed a major expansion of its existing hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN) near Seoul. The approximately 6,400-square-meter facility is more than four times larger than the operation it replaced, UPS said.

An automated sorting system at the facility increased hourly processing capacity by a factor of 4.5, according to UPS. The company currently operates 56 flights into and out of Incheon each week.

UPS said the expansion allows some shipments arriving from other parts of Asia-Pacific to clear customs and reach customers in the Seoul area within one business day. The facility includes temperature-controlled storage maintained between minus 20 and 25 degrees Celsius for pharmaceuticals, biologics and other healthcare products.

Elsewhere in the region, UPS opened a technology-equipped logistics center in Taiwan in March 2026 and has increased capacity on its intra-Asia air network.

The company is operating five weekly flights between Paris and Hong Kong and another five weekly flights between Shenzhen and Sydney. UPS said the additional services are aimed at healthcare, technology, automotive and industrial customers.

Healthcare logistics becomes a larger part of strategy

The $2 billion program also includes 27 temperature-controlled facilities that allow healthcare shipments to transfer between aircraft and trucks or enter short-term storage without leaving their required temperature range.

UPS said it has also opened a Supply Chain Solutions facility in Amsterdam that combines freight forwarding, customs brokerage and cold-chain services. A new facility in Barrie, Ontario, is expected to open in 2027.

In North America, UPS is expanding its heavy air-freight business with time-definite service to and from Mexico.

The investments fit with UPS’s broader move away from low-margin e-commerce volume and toward complex, higher-value shipments.

UPS said in July 2026 that it had completed its planned reduction in Amazon volume and the associated reconfiguration of its domestic network. The company’s original target called for cutting packages from Amazon by more than 50% from 2024 levels by June 2026.

The company generated more than $3 billion in healthcare revenue during both the first and second quarters of 2026. UPS said it has gained market share in healthcare logistics every year since 2021.The post UPS investing $2 billion in air hubs, healthcare logistics amid Amazon pullback appeared first on AeroTime.

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