Shanghai Express International Licensed for Air Cargo Express Customs Clearance Services

Shanghai Express International Co., Ltd. (head office: Shanghai; Tetsuo Iizuka, President), a Nippon Express subsidiary operating out of Shanghai, China, was recently granted a license by the Shanghai Pudong International Airport Customs Office to provide air cargo express customs clearance services (direct bonded transport) to companies within the Waigaoqiao Bonded Logistics Park (WBLP), the first time a foreign forwarder has received such a license.

Cargo imported from outside China and bound for customers in the WBLP has traditionally been conveyed to the airport warehouse after arrival at the airport, transferred to a forwarder's bonded CFS (supervised warehouse) outside the airport and sorted, and then sent on via bonded transport to the WBLP in accordance with the Customs authorization granted. Customs clearance procedures meanwhile required that the customs clearance documents be sent to the Customs Office at the WBLP, where the customer is located, a declaration be submitted to this Customs Office, and then confirmation be received from the Shanghai Pudong Airport Customs Office, necessitating a lead time of 2 - 3 days from arrival to delivery.

Use of this new license will allow Shanghai Express to convey import cargo to the airport warehouse after arrival, sort it there, and then transfer it by bonded transport to the WBLP, eliminating the need to bring the cargo to a forwarder's bonded CFS outside the airport. Customs clearance will be carried out at the WBLP Customs Office after the goods are conveyed to the Shanghai Express International CFS inside the WBLP, enabling final delivery as soon as six to seven hours after arrival of the aircraft.

Acquisition of this license will thus serve as an effective means of substantially reducing import lead time into the WBLP, speeding up delivery to customers within the WBLP, who often need urgent shipments, and shrinking inventory.

Nippon Express will continue upgrading its logistics functions in China and pursuing greater efficiency in order to meet the wide-ranging needs of its customers.