Austrian freight forwarder Gebrüder Weiss has expanded its presence to the Philippines as it responds to the “growing economic importance” of the island nation.
The new office, located in the capital city of Manila, employs 14 members of staff who will manage air and sea shipments as well as customs processes and coordinate land transport.
“The Philippines offers great economic potential. With this new country organisation, we are creating additional transport connections for our customers to this high-growth market, while strengthening our network in Asia,” said Michael Zankel, Gebrüder Weiss’s regional manager for East Asia and Oceania.
“In the coming years, we aim to expand our services, particularly offering logistics solutions for key industries such as high-tech, automotive, and consumer goods.”
The forwarder said that the Philippines is the 10th largest economy in Asia in terms of gross domestic product and maintains close foreign trade relations with the US, China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, where Gebrüder Weiss has an organisational presence.
"In 2024, the country achieved an export volume of around $73bn, while imports totalled just under $135bn. Electronic products, consumer goods, food, and raw materials from the Philippines are in particularly high demand,” Gebrüder Weiss said in a press release.
"The Manila metropolitan area is the industrial and economic centre of the Philippines, boasting direct connections to international seaports and Ninoy Aquino Airport. The city’s central location between free trade zones such as Clark, Subic, and Cavite makes the Philippine capital an ideal starting point for logistics activities."
Following the opening of the Manila office, Gebrüder Weiss is now active in 10 countries in East and Southeast Asia and Oceania.
These include Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company opened its first office in Thailand in June.
Elsewhere, the company also expanded its presence in the US earlier this year.
