DHL said the service is in response to anticipated growth in trade between China and the United States, which is the second-largest export market for Shenzhen. Total value of exports to the United States from the Chinese city grew 13 percent to $1.32 billion in the first half of the year.
The consolidation service is expected to be especially useful for small and medium-size businesses in Shenzhen and surrounding cities that don't ship enough to justify booking a full container, DHL said.
The service will be operated by Danmar Lines, DHL's in-house non-vessel operating common carrier. It follows the launch of LCL service from Shenzhen to New York and Vancouver, Canada, last year. DHL operates 45 direct LCL services, with 1,500 weekly point pairs, between 24 Asia-Pacific port terminals and 63 North American destinations.
Through the first half of 2010, inbound LCL volume to the United States on the transpacific route was 456,486 TEUs, or 7.73 percent of the total container market in that lane, according to statistics provided to AmericanShipper.com by The Datamyne Inc., a Miami-based provider of international trade data. ' Eric Kulisch
