DHL adds Japan to China-Europe intermodal service

Service will use a combination of truck, ocean and rail to provide Japanese shippers scheduled access to its rail service in China.

   DHL Global Forwarding will offer a multimodal service linking Japan to its existing rail service from China to Europe.
   The company said it will use a combination of truck, ocean and rail services to provide Japanese shippers scheduled access to its rail freight service in China. The delivery time for these containers from China to Europe will be 10 to 21 days, or half that of traditional all-water transport.     
   Cargo in Japan destined to Europe can be picked up from anywhere across the country by truck. Using 40-foot containers, cargo is then transported to any of four ports – Tokyo , Nagoya , Osaka and Hakata. The cargo is then transported by a short-sea service across the East China Sea to Shanghai for placement on Europe-bound rail services. Once the trains arrive in Poland, the containers are off-loaded and trucked to their final destinations across Europe.  
   “We are seeing a big potential of this innovative service for our customers in all sectors moving goods between Japan and Europe , especially in the electronics, automobile and the fashion and apparel industries,” said Mark Slade, president and representative director for DHL Global Forwarding Japan, in a statement.