TNT is to invest US$216m in its road distribution network in China, reported IFW.

TNT Hoau, the company’s road distribution arm in China, recorded first half 2010 revenue figures that exceeded those for all of 2009 as it expanded its coverage to 26 major cities.

TNT Hoau introduced a day-definite road service in February last year. Currently, it uses 800 depots in China for day-definite road distribution services and hundreds more of its other depots are set to be upgraded for day-definite services.

Eight ‘mega’ road hubs will be added to the two existing ones in Xian and Wuhan, and further investments will be made in barcoding and GPS technology to improve traceability and security.

A spokesman said that more older trucks would be replaced in addition to the 400 EU III-compliant trucks already purchased for deployment in China.