Panalpina takes China/Southeast Asia on road

Panalpina takes China/Southeast Asia on road    Global logistics company Panalpina said Tuesday it has started a road transport service connecting China and Southeast Asia aimed at giving shippers an alternative to costly air freight and slower ocean freight.
   A number of other logistics players in Asia have introduced similar products in recent years, including TNT Express, DHL and Kerry Logistics.
   Panalpina's service will link China, including western China, with Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, providing customs clearance with on-site staff and security monitoring.
   'The new solution caters to both full-truckload and less-than-truckload shipments,' the company said. 'It is a through container service, which means goods remain in the same sealed 40-foot or 45-foot container throughout the entire journey; only the trailers are exchanged. This concept makes the service interesting for high end products. The door-to-door transit time is five to six days shorter than ocean freight, and the costs are 30 percent to 50 percent lower than air freight. Plus, it is a more eco-friendly means of transportation than pure air freight.'
   Panalpina said the daily LTL service from Shenzhen to Bangkok via Hanoi takes four days.
   'The service also covers a number of major cities in western China, such as Chengdu and Chongqing, where the entire market still struggles to find adequate capacity for air and ocean transport,' said Andreas Wolff, area trade lane development manager of intra-Asia at Panalpina.