[photopress:work_loads_truck_on_to_ship.jpg,full,alignright]The Yangtze — China’s longest, most important river — is playing an increasingly vital role in providing energy and raw material imports. The growth has attracted the attention of transport and logistics companies.
Some facts. (It would be possible to write ‘staggering’ facts but that would be pointless hyperbole. Almost all facts about China are staggering.)
China accounts for a quarter of the world’s handling of containerized goods.
The seven provinces along the Yangtze’s 2,700km navigable length are home to 400m people and account for 40% of China’s gross domestic product and 60% of GDP growth.
Container volumes from the river’s ports to Shanghai are currently growing 35% year on year.
River traffic’s slow speed matters less for bulk commodities than for valuable container-borne goods. Bulk commodities are also harder to shift by China’s rapidly improving road network. Not all the growth is in bulk or on the lower river, however. Ford cars come by barge nearly 2,500km from a factory in Chongqing to be exported by sea from Shanghai.
Owen Xie, general manager for auto logistics in China of Japan’s NYK Logistics, said, ‘A truck’s maximum load is eight cars. When you take the barge, the maximum load is nearly 200.’ Which is shown in our illustration where a worker guides a truck on to a barge.
Source: Management +Karriere