Nippon Express launches high-speed consolidated ocean cargo service between Taiwan and China

-- New "Mashang Dao Suzhou" (Suzhou Express) service uses direct shipping route to Taicang Port, Jiangsu Province --

Nippon Express (Taiwan) Co., Ltd. ("NE Taiwan"; Tatsuo Sugiyama, President), a local subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Ltd. (Masanori Kawai, President), in May launched its "Mashang Dao Suzhou" (Suzhou Express) high-speed consolidated ocean cargo service from Taiwan to Suzhou, China using direct service to Taicang Port in Jiangsu Province to handle the increased logistics demand anticipated with the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), on which Taiwan and China reached provisional agreement in 2009 and which is expected to be officially concluded by the end of this year.

China is Taiwan's largest export destination, and much of this cargo is exported to Jiangsu Province and other locations in China's Huadong region. The ECFA is an economic agreement aimed at removing barriers to trade, services, and investment between Taiwan and China, and its conclusion should stimulate logistics and increase cargo volume at Shanghai Port, a major landing port for shipments bound for Jiangsu Province.

NE Taiwan's new consolidated service is a high-quality, high-speed service that uses direct container ship routes from Keelung Port and Taichung Port in Taiwan to Taicang Port in China's Jiangsu Province without transiting the often-congested Shanghai Port; Nippon Express then provides in-bond transportation of containerized cargo from Taicang Port to Suzhou New District in Jiangsu Province.

In-bond transportation from Taicang Port to Suzhou New District previously required two to three days from the arrival of the ship via Shanghai Port until delivery to Suzhou New District, but the "Mashang Dao Suzhou" service using Taicang Port substantially reduces lead time by taking advantage of simplified procedures under the "zone-port coupling system" ※1 to convey cargo to the Suzhou New District CFS on the afternoon of the day the ship arrives. Local Nippon Express subsidiaries in both Taiwan and Suzhou provide meticulous support for these operations.

Nippon Express will continue to enhance its logistics services between Taiwan and China to meet the anticipated expansion in demand, and to offer high-quality service satisfying customers' logistics needs pertaining to procurement, manufacturing and sales.

※1　Zone-port coupling system: a system aimed at reducing overall logistics time and facilitating operations by regarding specified "zones" (bonded areas, bonded inland depots, export processing zones, bonded logistics centers, logistics parks and other areas under the jurisdiction of customs authorities) and "ports" (seaports and airports at which cargo is actually loaded aboard ships and aircraft) as one and simplifying the multitude of import/export customs clearance procedures