KUEHNE & NAGEL TOPS 1 MILLION TEUs

KUEHNE & NAGEL TOPS 1 MILLION TEUs

   Kuehne & Nagel, the Switzerland-based forwarding and logistics group, said it is the first forwarder to handle more than one million TEUs of ocean freight in a year.

   The expansionist forwarder said Tuesday it exceeded a global ocean freight volume of one million TEU mark for container shipments in 2002, an increase of about 20 percent over 2001.

   Kuehne & Nagel, the largest forwarding group in the global container market, said it would disclose the actual volume at the end of March, as part of its annual results for 2002. In 2001, the group handled 850,000 TEUs.

   For years, the Swiss forwarding group has expanded its container freight volume faster than average market growth.

   K&N is heavily involved in the non-vessel-operating common carrier business via its arm Blue Anchor.

   The company noted the Asia-Pacific region and its entry in new markets, as well as information technology services as important factors for its growth in sea freight in 2002.

   “Over the past year, Kuehne & Nagel participated in the distinct rise in cargo handling in Asian ports and the rapid growth of industrialization in China to realize a significant increase in business volumes,” K&N said. “Export volumes alone in this region advanced more than 30 percent compared to the previous year.”

   The group also entered intra-Asian and Latin American traffic lanes last year.

   K&N believes that value-added services and a further extension of Internet-based products will sustain growth in the future.

   Kuehne & Nagel has 17,500 employees at 600 locations in 94 countries.