Nippon Express launches intermodal US export service to Asia via Mexico
Japanese logistics group Nippon Express has developed an intermodal service for US exports to Asia, ...
Japanese logistics group Nippon Express has launched a multimodal China-ASEAN service, tapping into the China-Laos Railway which opened in December.
The service involves railing containers from Kunming, China, to Vientiane in Laos and then trucking the boxes to Thailand and other ASEAN countries, a move that will reduce carbon emissions.
Previously, the company offered only a trucking option for customers who needed to get their goods from Kunming to Laos and Thailand.
A Nippon Express’ spokesperson told The Loadstar: “This combined transport service is in addition to our cross-border trucking, and can be used as a business continuity plan when ocean transport is disrupted.”
Nippon Express piloted multimodal transport in March with the movement of a 40ft container from Kunming to Ayuthaya in Thailand, which took five days to arrive, half a day faster than full trucking. The full train can accommodate 25 40ft containers.
The spokesperson added that the new service could be connected to its Shanghai-Singapore cross-border trucking service, which covers 7,000km between Shanghai and Singapore, via Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia
As one of the major projects of China’s Belt and Road initiative, the China-Laos Railway took five years to build at a cost of $6bn, most of which was paid for by China. The line links Laotian capital Vientiane with Kunming, a major manufacturing and transport hub.
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