UPS expanding Asia-to-US LCL network

UPS expanding Asia-to-US LCL network    UPS on Tuesday said it is expanding its UPS Preferred LCL Ocean Freight service to 10 more Asian ports after a successful rollout of the less-than-containerload product in Japan.
   The service provides up to 40 percent faster port-to-door delivery to the United States for LCL shipments, the company said.
   UPS recently added LCL service to the United States from the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo and Xiamen. The service will expand to origins in Busan and Taipei in March and to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Hong Kong in April.
   'Amid a recovering economy, importers are seeking faster ways to get products to market while at the same time balancing transportation costs,' said Jimmy Crabbe, vice president of ocean freight services at UPS. 'We are giving customers more flexibility by offering another cost and speed option when considering air freight or ocean freight transportation.'

Crabbe

   After arriving at a U.S. West Coast port, Preferred LCL ocean shipments are moved through an expedited UPS North American ground network utilized for airfreight shipments, cutting eight to 16 days of transit time off the current standard service for East Coast deliveries.
   UPS said the service is particularly aimed at customers in the high-tech/electronics, health care, retail and automotive industries.
   The ramping up of LCL services adds to a trend of major integrators and logistics companies — DHL and Panalpina, in particular — expanding their LCL networks out of Asia.