Matson Navigation Co.’s has launched its new China to Long Beach weekly express service. It marks the carrier entry into the China market. The service rotation is Long Beach - Honolulu – Guam – Ningbo – Shanghai – Long Beach. The eleven-day transit from Shanghai to Long Beach is among the fastest in the trans-Pacific.
Matson is using five fuel-efficient vessels in the service, which includes four containerships built in the past four years.
For Long Beach deliveries, Matson involves its intermodal and logistics subsidiary, Matson Integrated Logistics. With its throughput to an off-dock container yard four miles from the harbor, cargo will be available on a next day basis.
The deployment represents a $365 million investment – with the Guam – China service – in vessels, container and terminal assets. “Since announcing our plans for this venture a year ago,” says Matson’s president & CEO, James Andrasick, “we’ve developed a service that will offer competitive transit times, fast and efficient cargo availability in Long Beach and high quality customer service, both in China and the U.S.”
In concert with Cosco Container Lines (Coscon) , Evergreen Marine Corp. is launching a new service linking China to the southern U.S. states. Named the CUE service, the linkage will be Shanghai, Yantian and Hong Kong with Evergreen’s Panama hub terminal, Colon Container Terminal, Savanna and Miami. From the Colon Terminal connection, Evergreen will offer service on its established feeder links to ports in Central America, the Caribbean and the north and west coasts of South America.
Evergreen’s president, Arnold Wang, notes, “We believe that the West Coast may again suffer congestion in 2006 and so, together with Coscon, we are taking action now. This will allow our customers to revise their supply chain arrangements ahead of any possible problems they may anticipate later in the year.”
