Nippon Express strengthens Yangtze River transport network in line with expanding domestic Chinese demand

-- Concludes strategic partnership letter of intent with largest private shipping company on China's Yangtze River --

Nippon Express (China) Co., Ltd. (Tetsuo Mori, Managing Director), a subsidiary of Nippon Express Co. Ltd., (Masanori Kawai, President), on June 17 concluded a strategic partnership letter of intent with Minsheng Logistics Co., Ltd., a member of the Minsheng Shipping Group headquartered in Chongqing.

Inland China, and Chongqing in particular, has been in the limelight in recent years not only for its established production of automotive-related parts but also as a production site for IT-related goods, and major personal computer manufacturers have set up production plants there. Logistics needs have grown more sophisticated as a result, with customers requiring reliable procurement/transport of production parts and materials from other parts of China and abroad as well as VMI warehouse operation.

The Minsheng Group boasts a fleet of more than 240 cargo vessels, of which 60 are container vessels connecting Shanghai with Chongqing and Chengdu and 11 are dedicated exclusively to automobile transport, and is one of the largest private transport companies in China offering waterborne transport on the Yangtze River west of Wuhan. It has also built up a transport network based in Chongqing that extends to 300 cities in inland China.

By combining Nippon Express' know-how in VMI warehouse operation and other areas with the Minsheng Group's network in inland China, this strategic partnership will enable Nippon Express to offer Yangtze River waterborne transport products as well as logistics services such as VMI and JIT.

Nippon Express will continue to ascertain the diversifying needs of customers expanding into inland China and further expand its logistics services across the country.