Matson-J.B. Hunt move into guaranteed service

Matson-J.B. Hunt move into guaranteed service Matson Navigation Co., Matson Integrated Logistics and trucking giant J.B. Hunt have launched a new service offering guaranteed, expedited services from Ningbo and Shanghai to Long Beach and various U.S. inland destinations under a single invoice.
   The new service somewhat resembles one launched by APL Logistics and Con-way in August — the idea being to attract shippers who want day-definite shipments with transit times faster than typical ocean freight, but at a cost far less than air freight.
   The Matson-J.B. Hunt service gives shippers two options: first, one in which Matson and the ocean carrier's logistics arm will guarantee the transit time and delivery of shipments to the West Coast and selected inland destinations; and second, one in which Matson and J.B. Hunt will provide a guaranteed expedited transload and inland point delivery option.
   The second service will provide Matson, MIL, and J.B. Hunt customers the opportunity to gain economies of scale on inland transportation costs by reducing the number of container/trailers that are moved to the final destination/inland point, two companies said.
   'By utilizing the J.B. Hunt 53-foot containers, customers will be able to consolidate cargo from ocean containers into a lesser number of domestic containers synchronized for carriage via expedited intermodal or over-the-road service,' the companies said in a release. 'The guarantee on both products will offer customers a percentage refund for shipments not meeting the stated transit time/arrival date.'
   Matson, which offers the fastest transit times available in the Ningbo/Shanghai/West Coast trade lane, said it is the first ocean carrier to offer a guaranteed product for full container loads in the transpacific trade.
   'In the past year, Matson's China-Long Beach Express has built a reputation for reliable, expedited service in the transpacific trade,' said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, in a statement. 'We have the best on-time arrival record in the industry and have consistently beat our published transit times. We also are able to keep the momentum of the express service upon arrival on the West Coast, with next-day cargo availability in southern California and fast connections to inland destinations.'
   'For customers requiring time-definite service for imported shipments, this innovative product represents an excellent synergy between our respective service offerings,' said Kirk Thompson, president and chief executive officer of J.B. Hunt, in a statement. 'Enhancing customer supply chains by creating value and providing superior speed-to-market is another way we are adding to our 'shore-to-door' services.'
   The primary difference between the new services is that APL Logistics-Conway is serving less-than-containerload cargo and Matson-J.B. Hunt is offering full containerload service.