Hamburg Süd has received approval from China’s Ministry of Communications to expand it’s network of proprietary offices.

Established in December 2005 in Shanghai, Hamburg Süd (China) now has a network of offices in the country.

The company’s new branches are in the key transport hubs of Guangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Xiamen.

This rapid development also reflects advances made in Hamburg Süd’s liner services, which now offer multiple sailings every weekbetween China and South America, South Africa, Australasia, and, most recently, the Indian Subcontinent.

Now the company has launched two new weekly fixed-day services linking China to India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Source: Eye for Transport

Now a GPS vehicle tracking system lets you know where a truck or a car or any vehicle is at any time with great precision. This is callled automatic vehicle location. China’s suppliers provide CDMA and GSM-based AVLs (automatic vehicle locators).

These locators are designed for use in various service vehicles including  logistics trucks. Where is the consignment? It is EXACTLY there. To within a meter or so. For logistics companies it is a major step forward.

Available AVLs also support GSM or CDMA, with GSM-based units leading current supply. No mention of TD-SCDMA, the Chinese home grown system, but that will come.

China has 40 suppliers of AVL products. Most makers came from the GPS industry. Serious manufacture only started in 2006. Half of the supplier base is clustered in Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

GSM models and AVLs for enterprise applications make up the bulk of China’s AVL output. However, locators for private vehicles may soon take up a larger share of production as demand from private car owners surges worldwide.

Much more on this interesting development HERE.
Source: Global Source Telecom Products

ProLogis, the world’s largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, has leased about 19,000 square meters to Nittsu Sinotrans Logistics Dalian, a joint venture of Sinotrans Liaoning and Nippon Express.

According to the lease contract, Nittsu Sinotrans will get distribution space at ProLogis Park Dalian Free Port, from where it can offer logistics and transportation services to Japan-based Canon.

ProLogis Park Dalian Free Port is a distribution park covering a total space of about 130,000 square meters.

The site in northeastern China has close and easy access to markets in Korea and Japan.

Denver-headquartered ProLogis has $38.8 billion of assets, which are either owned, or managed or are under development.
Source: AliBaba.com

Chinese logistics giant Sinotrans has agreed to merge with China Yangtze Transportation.

The merger is still subject to approval according to statements published in the China Securities Journal.

The government supports consolidation of this large but fragmented sector. If it goes ahead, the move would create a sprawling transport corporation operating everything from marine, oil and river shipping to express delivery, freight forwarding and warehousing.

At the same time Sinotrans has reached a merger agreement with China Changjiang National Shipping, the country’s largest river shipping company, and Nanjing Water Transport.

It was stated: ‘There is no certainty as to whether or not the plans will be approved by authorities.’
No further details were given.

Beijing’s Sinotrans Group is the largest shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Sinotrans and Sinotrans Shipping.
Sources: Reuters and Quamnet

UPS says the growing manufacturing center north of Shenzhen, China and increased intra-Asian shipping activity have led the logistics giant to spend $180 million to relocate its intra-Asian logistics hub to Shenzhen.

The company’s current intra-Asian hub is in the Philippines at the former Clark Air Force Base.

UPS said Southeast Asian markets in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan account for more than half of UPS’s total intra-Asia volume. The new 92,903 hub will open in 2010.

Dan Brutto, president, UPS International, in a statement, said, ‘Given the growth in shipping along the southern rim of China, it now makes more sense to sort and dispatch this volume from a hub closer to our customers. And in making the switch, because of the growth we’re seeing, we intend to build a new sorting hub in Shenzhen with five times the capacity of the existing hub.’
Source: Purchasing.com

A new China to Europe air cargo service called Grandstar has started.

Grandstar Cargo International Airlines began operations at the weekend with an inauguration flight from Tianjin to Frankfurt using a Boeing 747-400 freighter. This despite the fact the cargo market is currently in a state of considerable turbulence.

This all-cargo carrier has started services when the price of oil is continuously on the rise and operating costs are at difficult-to-sustain levels.

Grandstar was established in December as a joint venture cargo airline. It is jointly owned  by:

Sinotrans Air Transportation Development (51%).
Korean Airlines (25%)
Hana Capital (13%)
Shinhan Capital (11%).

Grandstar will handle both domestic and international cargo and mail air transportation. This is probably the worst time it could enter this competitve market but presumably plans were well in hand before the price of oil started to go stratospheric.
Source: CargoNews Asia

The grand opening of a giant food-import center in the Southern China city of Zhuhai could be a boon to U.S. food sales in China.

The 74,300 square meter facility includes cold storage and freezer storage, 1,300 square meters of display space and laboratories to test for food safety. The facility, called a logistics center, is in an economic zone, which allows shippers to store products there without being taxed. Products aren’t taxed until they are moved out of the zone.

Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba, said, ‘We’ve got to ship container loads (to amortize the cost of shipping product to China. But in China, it’s a rarity that someone wants to purchase a whole container load. This facility addresses that, because you can ship a container, store it there and then buyers can come in and buy less than full container loads of product.’ (The illustration is of shops in Zhuhai City.)
Source: Capital Press

South Korea and China have opened a new sea route for container ships as part of their port alliance.

This follows the signing on a memorandum of understanding in January regarding cooperation to boost bilateral trade and the regional logistic network.

The route links South Korea’s Gwangyang port to China’s Taicang, an emerging logistical hub in JIangsu on China’s east coast. (The map gives an idea of position.)

Meanwhile, Mainland China and Taiwan are to discuss sea links in talks to be held in the autumn.

According to the China Times this statement was made by Chen Yunlin, China’s top negotiator with Taiwan, at a maritime seminar in Taicang, in China’s Jiangsu Province.

The seminar was attended by Chinese and Taiwanese shipping industry executives and port officials.

Chen Yulin said, ‘Sea links will be top issue for the autumn talks because China and Taiwan have reached consensus on it, so we should make it happen as soon as possible.’
Source: CargoNews Asia and M and C

Airbus has launched a door-to-door customized spares logistics service in China.

Using DHL as a forwarder for both domestic and international shipments, Airbus provides spare parts deliveries, including customs clearance, and takes full control of the supply chain for the customers.

It is the first time that an airplane manufacturer has taken the full responsibility for transporting spare parts for Chinese customers.

An aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company based in Shanghai has signed up for the service although it is not named.

Pierre Steffen, Airbus China’s vice-president for customer services, shown here, said, ‘We believe that in the next three years we would have about 50% of all the spares transported under this program. The cost pressure will help us because it is more efficient for customers.’

The spares logistics service was developed at Airbus’ spares support and service headquarters in Germany more than five years ago and has been introduced to Europe, the United States and Asia. Now about 45 airlines, including Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, are using the service.
Source: China Daily

China Shipping Container Lines is likely to buy a port developer from its state-owned parent for RMB2.6 billion ($379 million), according to the China Securities Journal.

Its parent, China Shipping (Group) Company, was auctioning all of its stake in the port developer on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, and the newspaper quoted analysts as saying China Shipping Container Lines was likely to win the bid.

The Shanghai-based port developer, China Shipping Terminal Development Co — the one that is being bought — is engaged in port investment and development, logistics, warehouse stocking and transportation.

China Shipping Container Lines had said it planned to use funds raised from its initial public offering to buy the port developer from its parent.
Source: CargoNews Asia