[photopress:logistics_World_Trade.jpg,full,alignright]A thorough, and quite long, examination of logistics in China has been published by World Trade China and you can connect to it through Source at the end of this item.
What it says is that in recent months, a number of major U.S. transportation and logistics companies have launched new services in China as a way to move up the supply chain and take control of freight at the manufacturing facility. Experts warn that the road isn’t always easy going in that China’s transportation and logistics sectors, particularly the ground transportation segment, are highly fragmented and rules and regulations are constantly changing. But, it says, it is well worth the effort.
Prior to 2005, U.S. firms were required to establish a joint venture with a Chinese company to operate in the country’s transportation and logistics market. The country’s membership in the WTO in 2002, combined with market opening reforms and increasing manufacturing and sourcing activity has fueled the expansion of U.S. firms in China.
After summing up the overall situation the article looks at various individual aspects.
Railways: In the five year plan the country will develop 40 intermodal terminals, 18 logistics parks, and 100 container handling terminals. Government spending of $190 billion in then rail sector will add 16,000 kilometers of track by the end of the decade.
Highways: Fourteen expressways are being built, including one from Beijing to Hong Kong and Macao. The total expressway mileage in China amounts to over 41,000 kilometers, ranking the country second in the world. By 2020, the country is likely to overtake the U.S. as the country with the biggest highway system.
The full article is a very thorough and fair summary of the current situation and appears to have no ax to grind; no particular agenda to follow.
Source: World Trade China