News / Box carriers eye more volumes and logistics services through ties with 3PL

CJ Logistics VP Kang Byung-ku (left) with Evergreen GM Eric Hsieh

Although the major box lines have expanded their logistics activities through acquisitions, Taiwan’s Evergreen and South Korean carriers SM Line, Namsung and Dong Young are doing this by working with South Korea’s largest 3PL, CJ Logistics (CJL).

The liner operators hope to increase cargo volumes through the CJL network, while the 3PL aims to secure competitive freight rates.

Evergreen, the sixth-largest liner operator, has agreed to provide competitive freight rates to CJL, and they will work together to secure container volumes to and from Asia and develop sea-land services.

Particularly, CJ Logistics is eyeing business from the Ocean Alliance, of which Evergreen is a member, along with CMA CGM, Cosco and OOCL.

In addition, an Evergreen spokesperson told The Loadstar the agreement with CJ Logistics would help the Taiwanese line achieve carbon neutrality, especially noting the EU’s green shipping requirements.

Through South Korea’s second-largest box carrier, SM Line, CJL has expanded its presence in the US logistics market by helping transport cargo such as frozen food and medicines in reefers between Busan and the US west coast. SM Line plans to expand the provision of last-mile service, from port to final destination, using CJL’s US subsidiary.

CJ Logistics is working with Namsung on using IoT technology to stabilise cold chain logistics between South Korea, China and Japan, while Namsung has started transporting containers from South Korea to Vietnam, using CJL’s Asian network.

Namsung subsidiary Dong Young is, with CJL, jointly transporting containers from South Korea, Japan and Vietnam to Mongolian capital Ulan Bator by ship and rail. In future, the service will be expanded to landlocked areas in China, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

A spokesman for CJ Logistics said the agreements offered opportunities to liner operators which may lack the finances to acquire a logistics firm, adding: “Allying with us is a good way to become more competitive, by providing logistics services without a separate investment. CJ Logistics can also enhance its competitiveness and profitability through differentiated services. We’re mutually complementing the strengths and weaknesses of a 3PL and liner operator.”