DTW Group

DTW Group, formally Tianjin Datian W. Group Co., Ltd., describes itself as a Chinese logistics company founded in 1992 as a Class A international freight-forwarding enterprise approved by China’s foreign-trade and civil-aviation authorities. Its own profile says it became an International Air Transport Association member and was listed among logistics enterprises receiving state support in 2001. The same profile identifies Beijing as its headquarters and describes services spanning freight, maritime and land transport, warehousing, and integrated logistics. [1]

The company’s published network profile describes 33 integrated logistics distribution centers, 23 international freight-forwarding stations, seven bonded warehouses, and 192 outlets across major Chinese cities and economic regions. Those figures come from DTW’s corporate website and are best read as a description of the network it reported for its integrated logistics business, rather than as current figures for the former FedEx joint venture. [1]

DTW’s place in this database is principally connected to its 1999 partnership with FedEx. FedEx announced that FedEx Express and DTW had formed the FedEx-DTW International Priority express joint venture, combining FedEx’s international express operation with DTW’s Chinese domestic network. At the time of the announcement, DTW also said it would continue operating international freight forwarding, general cargo transport, and merchandise distribution businesses. [2]

In January 2006, FedEx agreed to pay US$400 million for DTW’s 50 percent share of the joint venture, related international-priority assets, and domestic express assets from 89 DTW locations. FedEx’s filing records completion on March 1, 2007, converting the joint venture into a wholly owned subsidiary and expanding FedEx’s domestic and international express presence in China. DTW is therefore documented here as a historical logistics partner whose express assets were acquired by FedEx, not as a current FedEx affiliate. [2] [3]