DHL and Latvian Railways team up to boost Baltic-China connections
DHL Global Forwarding and Latvian Railways will be working together to establish multimodal rail connections between China and Latvia. The railway company Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz) and DHL signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation (MUC) yesterday (28 June).
Under the MUC, new connections will include guaranteed transit times and simplified customs and handling procedures for inbound and outbound cargo, as well as support for more flexible shipments such as Less-than-Container Load (LCL) freight.
The MUC also includes provisions for ocean freight and intermodal shipping between Latvia, Scandinavia, and the UK and Ireland, as well as air and road freight connections to major cities across continental Europe.
“So far, very few Baltic or Nordic businesses have fully tapped into the immense market opportunities that China and the broader Asia Pacific region currently offer,” said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Greater China.
“The two regions’ exports made up only 0.7% of China’s imports on average between 2011 to 2015, despite China’s demand for overseas goods which both regions excel in – like high-quality food products, textiles, and pharmaceuticals – growing rapidly in this time.”
Edvīns Bērziņš, the President of LDz, added: “DHL has led the way in realizing the Belt and Road’s opportunities for numerous countries, including the Nordic states that its Shenzhen-Minsk route will directly service.
“This new agreement will give Latvian businesses the flexibility and confidence to engage in freer trade with Chinese and Asian markets, as well as establish Latvia as a strategic gateway along the Belt and Road to other parts of Europe – a twofold boost to the country’s production and logistics industries.”
The MUC with LDz comes as DHL begins service along its newest Asia-Europe multimodal route connecting Shenzhen to Minsk via rail. DHL holds similar agreements with national rail providers in Belarus, Chengdu, and other major hubs along China’s proposed Belt and Road trade routes.
