COSCO DEVELOPS ASIAN INTERMODAL LINKS VIA QINGDAO
COSCO Container Lines and sister companies within the China Ocean Shipping Co. group are developing Asian intermodal sea/rail links via the northern Chinese port of Qingdao.
COSCO has recently moved 240 40-foot containers of frozen poultry from Long Beach to Almaty, in Kazakhstan, via the port of Qingdao. The Chinese company said that this was the first time that reefer containers have transited China using reefer railcars.
COSFRE, a forwarding affiliate of COSCO, is seeking to expand the scope of its land transportation.
COSFRE Qingdao handles the rail transport of freight within China for intermodal freight via Qingdao. COSCO has its own dock and container yard in the port of Qingdao, facilitating connections between vessel and rail.
COSCO’s intermodal initiative aims to move cargoes to and from America, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Europe, via Qingdao, where oncarriage is provided to and from multiple inland points in northern and central Asia.
Cargoes to Russia move via the border point of Manzhouli (China)/Zabaikalsk (Russia). Freight to the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan move via Alashankou (China)/Druzba (Kazakhstan). Cargoes to Afghanistan also transit via Alashankou.
COSCO said that its intermodal service does not currently serve South Korea, but it links with North Korea via the border city of Dandong (China)/Sinuiju (Korea).
Cargoes to Mongolia move via Erlian (China)/Zamynund (Mongolia).