South Korean feeder operator Korea Marine Transport Company (KMTC) Line will partner with Japanese third-party logistics company Nippon Express to arrange shipping, customs clearance and door-to-door delivery for containers shipped between China and Japan.
The agreement was signed by Noh Ki-ryong, head of KMTC Line’s Shanghai office, and Tatsuo Sugiyama, head of Nippon Express’ China operations.
KMTC Line and Nippon Express will start their collaboration with goods transported between China and Japan, before expanding their efforts to other intra-Asia routes, such as between China and Southeast Asia.
Since 1944, when KMTC Line opened an office in Shanghai, the South Korean operator has carried cargoes within Asia. The company operates eight South Korea-China-Japan services.
Sugiyama said that working with KMTC Line will enable Nippon Express to widen its customer base in Japan and elsewhere.
An official from KMTC Line said, “With the recent container shortage becoming an issue, we plan to provide a stable and consistent transportation service on the China-Japan route in co-operation with Nippon Express, which will act as one of our Shanghai sales agents.
Nippon Express has absorbed many of Japan’s smaller rail transport companies and six other rivals, since its founding in 1937 as a government service, before being privatised in the 1950s.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
