UPS has launched faster port-to-door deliveries of freight shipments from Europe to the US forshippers looking to switch from air to slower and cheaper sea transportation across the
Atlantic.The company said it has expanded its Preferred Less-Than-Container Load (PLCL) expedited oceanfreight service to include Western Europe. Additional port access will open in Germany, theNetherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom, providing shippers up to 40% faster port-to-doordelivery time to the US than UPS’s standard LCL service. Customers will also have access to thesame visibility technologies used for package shipments.
The PLCL service, first launched in the spring of 2011, offers time-in-transit improvements byleveraging UPS’s existing North American freight network. The expedited LCL services are availablefrom 26 Asian ports and now four Western European ports to the US.
“The expansion of our expedited ocean freight service comes at a time when many companies areconsidering other modes of transportation for their freight movements,” explained Keith Andrey,vice president, UPS ocean freight services. “In the two years that we’ve offered the PLCL servicein Asia, we have seen a great deal of customer interest in an expedited ocean freightproduct. Now that we are expanding this service to Europe, we can help customers to bridge thegap between the speed of air freight and the economy of ocean freight to better compete in theglobal market.”
Companies positioned to benefit from this expedited ocean freight service include US importersand European customers in the industrial, automotive, retail and healthcare industries, UPS pointedout.
In 2012, UPS expanded its direct LCL ocean freight offering by adding more than 300 trade lanesaround the world, taking the service to a total of 1,700 lanes serving 116 countries. The expansionincluded 139 more outbound lanes from Asia, including 68 from China, and 81 more direct LCL lanesfrom Europe. A further expansion of the direct LCL service is planned this year.
UPS described itself as a “top 10 global freight forwarder and one of the world’s top USNon-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs)” and said it provides a complete portfolio of oceanfreight services ranging from transportation to a Supplier Management service that handles overseasvendors and orders.
