DHL opens multinational freight gateway in South Korea
DHL Global Forwarding has launched its eighth Global Multinational Gateway, in the South Korean port of Busan. The hub enables DHL’s air and ocean freight division to launch 13 new Less than Container Load (LCL) services, adding to the existing 13 services offered.
Operated and managed wholly in-house by DHL, customers will be provided with total visibility over shipments on some of the busiest trade routes in the world and reductions in transit times of up to one week, the company said.
Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, said: “Busan’s location between Japan and China makes it an ideal transshipment point for cargo moving to the Americas from North Asia.
“According to some industry reports, we will see trade between Asia and North America grow almost 5% in 2013 and over 5% in 2014. The launch of DHL’s 8th Global Multinational Gateway in Busan puts us in prime position to take advantage of that growth potential.
“In addition to the 13 new services that will be introduced with the opening of this facility, we plan to launch another 20 new direct LCL services out of South Korea over the next year.”
DHL said it invested about half a million Euros in the setup of the Busan Multinational Gateway, which shortens transit times for customers and businesses in Japan, South Korea and China, and helps them foster better relations with customers and partners in the Americas.
Previously shipments were routed through the Hong Kong Multinational Gateway.
With the shorter feeder distance to South Korea from Japan and China, and the decreased transit time for shipments in South Korea, DHL is offers a more carbon efficient and environment friendly solution for customers.
SP Song, Country Manager of South Korea at DHL Global Forwarding, said: “The 13 new LCL services we are introducing to the market consolidates shipments from five North Asian origins such as Dalian, Xingang and Qingdao in China, Hakata in Japan, and Busan in South Korea.
“The consolidated shipments are then delivered to eight countries in the Americas, namely the USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina. With the new Gateway, DHL not only gives our customers more trading opportunities, we also give them peace of mind over their shipments – we are one of the first logistics players in South Korea to wholly own and operate our LCL services end-to-end, guaranteeing full visibility over these shipments.”
DHL Global Forwarding operates eight Global Multinational Gateways including four in Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Busan, Singapore, Colombo), three in Europe (Bremen, Antwerp, Koper) and one in the Americas (Los Angeles).
All LCL services are accompanied by DHL’s first-class IT solutions, such as DHL Track & Trace and other tools, to allow full visibility throughout the whole supply chain.
