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Express carrier TNT says it is well-placed to ride out the effects of any global economic downturn thanks to minimal exposure to the US domestic market.

Last week, rival FedEx reported a fourth-quarter net loss of US$241m (£121m) and full-year net income of US$1.13bn (£568.3m), down some 44% on the previous year, mainly caused by the weak US economy.

And fellow US-based operator UPS has already warned of falling domestic demand.

However, Marie-Christine Lombard, group MD for TNT's Express division, says: "We are not affected by the US slowdown - we have no exposure in the US, in some ways to our great regret and in others not."

In a reference to DHL, which has recently announced large-scale cutbacks in its US operation, she adds: "[DHL] has paid for it - and now you see what the result is. When you have very strong operators in very mature markets it is very hard to enter the market late."

Despite the sell-off of its logistics arm in 2006, TNT is still targeting growth in the plus-30kg consignment sector, such as pallets and other oversized express freight, says Lombard.

"What we have found is that clients trading on express flows have other flows that  they would like to use TNT for. We want to capture those and arrange solutions for our clients."

Marketing and sales director Jan-Willem Breen says that a broad product offering, particularly what it describes as "Economy Express", is also helping the firm to survive the downward economic pressure by allowing its customers to switch traffic to cheaper ground-based options.