Provided under DHL AsiaConnect's Less-than-Truckload (LTL) service, the five-city road network offers a seamless interconnecting delivery service with improved time and cost efficiencies and a consistent 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.
As a viable alternative to other transportation modes, road freight provides a more cost-effective option than air freight and fast shipping than sea freight. For example, 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.
DHL operates the road freight service on a daily basis from the five cities with the following transit times:
• 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
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 also are armed with anti-hijacking tools and are constantly in touch with DHL's Command Centre, which will be alerted immediately should the need arise.
"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," Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, said.
According to estimates, the total GDP of all 10 ASEAN countries combined was €2.2 trillion in 2013 (www.asian.org) while China's GDP alone was € 9.5 trillion in 2014 (Worldbank). ASEAN's global trade hit €2.31 trillion in 2013 (www.asian.org) and China consistently appears among the top five trade partners for ASEAN members (www.uscc.gov).
