DHL Global Forwarding has launched a China-Vietnam cross-border trucking service to offer customerstailored logistics solutions that are cheaper than air freight and faster than ocean freight as
overland trucking becomes increasingly important in the current economic environment.This cross-border trucking service connects major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Dongguan,Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan and Zhongshan withVietnamese destinations including Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. The servicefeatures door-to-door service, exclusive truck for short and reliable transit time (Full TruckLoad), bonded and non-bonded service, GPS-equipped trucks to ensure security, and daily track andtrace.
Road transportation has become a popular logistics solution due to its flexibility, lowerrisk and cost efficiency. Compared with ocean freight, the transit time savings for the roadtransportation from China to Vietnam can add up to almost 10 days; and the service offers about 60%cost savings when compared with air freight. For example, the door-to-door service from Shanghai toHanoi usually takes four days by air freight or 17 days by ocean freight. However, if transportedvia road, the transit time is six to seven days, and the cost saving ranges from 60% – 70% of thecost of air freight, DHL said in a statement.
The service was launched on 15 July with the first cargo shipment arriving at Ericsson’swarehouse in Hanoi, Vietnam. “We are happy to be the first customer of DHL’s new roadtransportation service,” said Mattias Bolinder, Logistics and Supply Network Roll Out Market Unit,Ericsson, South East Asia. “We made the order on the morning of July 10th and the cargo was at ourHanoi warehouse on the afternoon on July 15th; five days is a really short transit time! We arelooking for cost savings and time-efficient logistics solutions and we find this roadtransportation meets our requirement quite well.”
“We are always exploring for our customer the best combination of cost and time,” said SteveHuang, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding China. “Equipped with industry know-how,best-in-class domestic transportation capability, IT platform, extensive network coverage and adedicated team, this road transportation service has the advantage of cost saving, flexibility,lower risk and full shipment visibility. With several successful trial runs, we are confident inproviding customers with an end-to-end solution for their road transportation needs between Chinaand Vietnam.”
China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for 5 consecutive years with China-Vietnambilateral trade reaching $19.46 billion in 2008.
The new China-Vietnam service is likely to complement the DHL Express Economy Select (Road)trucking services in south-east Asia. This service started in August 2006 connecting Singapore,West Malaysia and Thailand, and has seen significant growth. In March 2009, DHL Express registeredrecord road volumes with a 79% rise compared to February marking the largest month-on-month growthrate in 32 months.
DHL Economy Select (Road) is especially suited for less time-sensitive shipments such asmarketing collateral, books, small machine and assembly parts. The service includes track and tracecapabilities, door-to-door services and around-the-clock monitoring by DHL’s Quality ControlCentres in Singapore and Thailand.
Other competitors are also building up long-distance overland trucking networks in theregion. TNT has extended its Asia Road Network from south-east Asia through Indo-China intosouthern China. Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics also set up a new road trucking service betweenSouth-East Asia and southern China last year.
