Japanese logistics firms move in

Japanese firms have raised their profile in the Vietnamese shipping market which is bound to make it cheaper and easier to transport goods out of Viet Nam.

One shipping company will allow ships to stop over on the way to Europe and thus reducing the shipping time and costs to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, while other Japanese firms are joining with local cargo firms to launch new services to Thailand, Singapore and further afield.

In one venture, Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines will have ships on its Europe route dock a Cai Mep port in Viet Nam’s southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, to turn Cai Mep port into an intermediary port on the route between Asia and North America.

It will arrange for ten 6,500TEU ships to dock at Cai Mep entrepot every week. (TEU stands for “Twenty-foot Equivalent Units,” a measure used for container ships.

The move will reduce transport times from Viet Nam to Rotterdam in the Netherlands by three days to 21 days as well as cut down on expenses for loading and storage.

Japan’s demand for maritime transport on the route linking Asia to Europe and North America is set to continue to rise by 5-10 per cent a year.

Meanwhile, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Lines) has co-operated with Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) to develop a cargo transport service within the Southeast Asian region using 1,000-TEU ships.

The two companies will put two small ships into operation to transport goods from northern Viet Nam to Thailand and Singapore, in anticipation of rising domestic demand for automobile spare parts imported from Thailand, which is predicted to increase by 20-30 per cent.

NYK Lines also plans to launch a service from northern Viet Nam to Singapore and then Europe and North America.

Another company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, is scheduled to set up a joint venture with a Vietnamese freight line in Ha Noi and establish a representative office in HCM City this month. — VNS

Tags: Japanese logistics