Penang-based City Zone Express launches road freight service between Malaysia and Europe amid container shortages
Due to frustrations from delays and capacity shortages of shipping containers, City Zone Express (CZE), a transport and logistics company based in Penang has launched a 150-truck freight service as a land-based alternative, connecting Malaysia to Europe via Chongqing, China.
Raj Selvarajoo, General Manager of CZE, said that the company was already moving around 500 containers a month between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to its offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
“After the trade war, pandemic, Suez blockage and container shortages, we decided we wanted to take the service further. CZE’s truck service runs from Chongqing, making the border crossing at Alashankou, before transiting to Kazakhstan, Russia and Germany,” he told The Loadstar.
Despite the lead time with trucks being 20% to 30% higher compared to ocean travel, the speed and reliability more than makes up for the added cost.
“Sea freight is a big mess and airfreight is way too expensive,” he added.
According to The Loadstar, trucking from China to Europe gained traction in 2020 when Covid started to seriously impact supply chains and it became apparent that shipper networks couldn’t cope with the surging volumes linked to lockdowns.
“Major players such as DHL, Ceva and DSV all noted the potential of utilizing a China-Europe road freight land-bridge, thereby alleviating pressure on rail. However, trucking routes have had problems too, given Covid-tests for drivers and added customs checks which said could cause congestions and delays, especially at the China border crossings,” The Loadstar wrote.
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