DHL Global Forwarding rolls out pan-Asian road freight network

DHL Global Forwarding, a provider of air, sea and road freight services in Europe and Asia, has rolled out an integrated road freight network that links five key Asian cities - Singapore, Penang, Bangkok, Hanoi and Shenzhen. The new service taps the acceleration of road freight growth in Asia Pacific which is forecast at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2014 to 2019 and expected to drive the sector to a value of US$822 billion by the end of 2019*.

Source: DHL.

Delivered under DHL AsiaConnect's Less-than-Truckload (LTL) service, the interconnecting five-city service offers a seamless interconnecting delivery service with improved time and cost efficiencies and assures a consistent level of service quality regardless of the destination. DHL AsiaConnect was launched in 2011 connecting Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and now links to the existing Vietnam-China connection.

Road freight offers a viable alternative to other transportation modes, providing a more cost-effective option than air freight as well as faster shipment than sea freight. For instance, the transit time for ocean freight between Shenzhen and Bangkok takes around 13 days while the road freight option only takes five days. In comparison, air freight takes a shorter transit time of four days but will cost significantly more. There are daily departures from five cities and a sample of the transit time is as follows: 

Singapore to Penang: One day
Bangkok to Hanoi: Three days
Shenzhen to Hanoi: Two days
Shenzhen to Bangkok: Five days
Penang to Shenzhen: Six days

The five-city interconnecting road freight network comes at a time when China's One Belt, One Road² initiative is taking shape and expected to strengthen cross-border economic ties in markets between Europe and Asia. Specifically, the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt aims to enhance economic cohesiveness through infrastructure and wider trade links across the markets between Europe and Asia while the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is oriented towards ASEAN, putting DHL's integrated five-city road freight network in good stead to tap the growth potential of the One Belt, One Road strategy.

"DHL's integrated road freight network touches five crucial Asian markets - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China - which are expected to play prominent roles in China's One Belt, One Road and other initiatives in the region such as the ASEAN Economic Community," said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific. 

"Across the region, the total GDP of all 10 ASEAN countries combined was US$2.4 trillion³ in 2013 while China's GDP alone was US$10.3 trillion⁴ in 2014. ASEAN's global trade hit US$2.51 trillion³ in 2013 and China consistently appears among the top five trade partners for ASEAN members⁵. We are confident that intra-Asia trade will continue to grow and our road freight network stands ready to support the potential trade expansion from these initiatives." 

DHL's integrated road freight network will be advantageous for upcoming economic initiatives promoting trade and integration, having laid the groundwork that already links key Asian markets. For example, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)⁶ which is set to be established by the end of 2015, aims to create a single ASEAN market and production base facilitated by bilateral trade agreements and financial policies. The blueprint encompasses cross-border cooperation in various focus areas including capacity building, enhanced infrastructure and communication connectivity, and the development of electronic transactions. Brought to fruition, AEC will lead to a thriving ASEAN region amid the free movement of goods, services, investment and skilled labour.

DHL's multimodal network includes air, rail, road and sea, is positioned to support trade expansions across different regions. DHL's road freight network features GPS-equipped trucks to ensure customer goods are monitored for safety and tracked every step of the way, providing complete supply chain visibility. Road vehicles are also armed with anti-hijacking tools and are constantly in touch 24x7 with DHL's Command Center, which will be alerted immediately should the need arise. 

1 http://www.marketresearch.com/MarketLine-v3883/Road-Freight-Asia-Pacific-8748345
2 NDRC, China
3 ASEAN key indicators
4 The World Bank
5 USCC
6 ASEAN

DHL launches Taiwan-to-Austria freight service for less than a container load

DHL Global Forwarding has launched a new weekly LCL (Less-than-Container-Load)* service from Taiwan to Austria. The new service, which arrives in Vienna via Koper, Slovenia, enables Taiwanese exporters to ship their cargo every Monday from Keelung or Kaohsiung, for arrival in Vienna 35 days after.

"It is imperative that as a company, DHL Global Forwarding has its finger on the pulse of the industry and can identify the needs of exporters. Specifically we must focus on helping to strengthen cross-border trade partnerships. With the Eastern Europe states expanding their appetite for Asian products, this new service supports the needs of Taiwanese traders to perform more efficient and speedy services to their customers there," said Kelvin Leung, CEO, Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding.

Offered through Danmar Lines, DHL Global Forwarding's in-house carrier, the new service drastically shortens shipping time by 8 days, close to 25%, as it bypasses LCL trans-shipment hubs and reduces time spent on facility handling. The service is also over 3% more CO2-efficient than traditional routings.
"Taiwan exports are reaching farther and wider than ever before and Austria is an important trading partner of Taiwan and a key gateway to Central and Eastern Europe. According to the Bureau of Foreign Trade, plastic articles, electrical equipment and machinery account for nearly 50% of our overall exports," said Kenny Mok, Managing Director, Taiwan, DHL Global Forwarding. 

"We realise that Taiwan-based traders want to extend their product footprint and supply chains to the Eastern Europe markets of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia. With our latest LCL service launch, we are fulfilling their demand for faster speed-to-market services to that region."
"Following well-established weekly LCL services from Taiwan to Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Finland and Lithuania, this new service marks the most recent European route that DHL Global Forwarding has launched out of the Asia Pacific. DHL currently operates the world's largest in-house LCL network with more than 2,000,000 cubic metres of LCL freight handled annually and more than 2,500 weekly point pairs from 45 Asia Pacific terminals sailing to 56 destination terminals in Europe," added Marc Meier, Global Head, LCL, DHL Global Forwarding.

All LCL services are accompanied by DHL's IT solutions, including DHL Track & Trace, which allow full visibility throughout the whole supply chain. DHL also provides insurance services to customers as a value-added service. DHL's Shippers Interest Insurance (SII) covers loss or damage of all cargo transported by DHL, as well as transportation costs.

DHL carries more than 97% of its total volumes in-house. The in-house systems and strong global network enables the control of cargo and information flow, increasing speed, accuracy, cost efficiency and reliability. The DHL team manages traditional LCL as well as LCL/FCL** or 'buyer's consolidation', offering localised expertise ensuring timely, secure and cost-effective services at both ends of the supply chain.
*Less than Container Load (LCL) refers to smaller amounts of ocean freight cargo that are insufficient to fill a Full Container Load on their own. The service is widely used by customers across many industries as it offers greater flexibility in the management of supply chains by being able to ship smaller quantities on a timelier basis.
**Full container load (FCL)