South Korea joins DHL’s Asia-Europe multimodal network

DHL Global Forwarding, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services, has connected South Korea to its comprehensive Asia-Europe multimodal network, giving Korean businesses more flexible and efficient access to the country’s third-largest export market.

As part of the extension, new ferry services link ports in Incheon and Busan to a range of major Chinese ports including Shanghai, Taicang and Lianyungang. South Korean shipments will then travel via truck to major inland hubs in cities including Chengdu, Hefei, Suzhou and Xi’an for subsequent transport to Europe on DHL’s rail services. Korean businesses will also gain access to DHL’s Flexigateway service, which selects the optimal rail route for shipments based on available capacity and route speed at any given time — giving them clearly-defined transit times at the most efficient operating cost.

“With South Korean exports to Europe this year growing at their fastest pace since 2011,[2] the country’s major industries have greater need for flexible, scalable freight services than ever before,” said Charles Kaufman, CEO, North Asia; Managing Director, Japan; and Head, Value Added Services, Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding. “While its level of global connectedness has remained relatively stable over the past few years,[3] South Korea must continue to invest in deeper trade ties — and the infrastructure that sustains them — to key partners like the European Union and China if it wants to maintain its record of economic growth and development.”

“Our new offerings like Flexigateway, combined with the range of value-added services already built into our multimodal network, seek to streamline and stabilize the logistics process for Korean businesses of all sizes.”

DHL’s Asia-Europe multimodal services include specialized solutions for some of South Korea’s largest industries,including

• Car racking and expert handling for automotive exporters;
• Garment-on-hanger services for the fashion industry;
• Temperature-controlled containers for technology manufacturers; and
• Licenses, labelling, and dedicated warehousing for wine and spirits producers.

The multimodal network is also supported by features including end-to-end customs handling, GPS tracking of containers and a range of cargo insurance options, minimizing the risks of delays and disruption for both full- and less-than-container load shipments on any route.

“South Korea’s economy continues to rely heavily on value-added exports to grow, and reinforcing its existing trade partnerships will help it continue to weather global uncertainty,” said Seokpyo Song, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding Korea. “This new connection to our Asia-Europe multimodal network will not only improve the fundamentals of freight flexibility, cost and reliability for Korean businesses — it also directly addresses the unique needs of our country’s most crucial and well-regarded industries, giving them the confidence to pursue greater expansion overseas.”

DHL continues to expand its Asia-Europe multimodal network to meet rapidly-growing demand from businesses in both regions, with the company launching its latest route — from Shenzhen to Minsk — in May 2017.