Japanese global forwarder and logistics provider Nippon Express has launched a new road transport service, called the ‘Mekong Land Bridge Express’, linking Hanoi, Vietnam with Bangkok, Th ailand. Th e new service is aimed at tapping rising trade flows since the December 2006 opening of the second Mekong bridge.
“The principal modes of transport between Hanoi and Bangkok at present are air transport and marine transport – and door-to-door marine transport service takes 14 days,” said Nippon Express. “This new service will reduce lead time substantially, to about one-fifth, using a land route. We will also provide services incorporating containers with the same specifications as marine cargo containers to meet the demand for large-volume transport. In addition, we intend to start up consolidated services this summer to handle the transport of small-lot shipments.”
Nippon Express said the launch of its Mekong Land Bridge Express service opened the last remaining Thailand-Vietnam section of the company’s 7,000 kilometre road transport routes connecting Shanghai and Singapore and marked the completion of a long haul transport route traversing six national borders. Nippon Express already offers other service products along that route, specifically ‘Star Night Express’ between southern China and Hanoi, and ‘Oriental Land Bridge Express’ between Singapore and Bangkok.
“The need for a transport route linking China (a popular site for expansion among Japanese and other manufacturers), Vietnam (the recent focus of attention in ‘China-plus-one’ strategies) and South East Asia has risen sharply, and high expectations are held out for the Mekong River basin and the rest of Indochina as a growth market,” added the company.