DACHSER is expanding premium charter flight rotation to and from China

From Vietnam to Poland by rail via China’s New Silk Road

For a manufacturer of hospital beds, DACHSER recently handled a rail transit shipment for the first time. This transportation solution offers customers an optimal balance of transit time and cost.

The new DACHSER magazine is here!

Peak fitness, technical proficiency, cognitive strength, experience, risk awareness, collaboration, and respect for nature—these are many of the qualities generally associated with a top mountaineer. But they are also good traits for companies and their leadership to have if they want to traverse treacherous terrain and remain successful in times of uncertainty.

IMO 2020 regulations are making ships cleaner

Commonly known as IMO 2020, the new environmental guidelines from the International Maritime Organization for global shipping traffic will take effect in January 2020. From then on, all ships on the open sea will be required to reduce their emissions of sulfur oxides by 85 per cent. This applies worldwide to all fuels used on the open sea.

IMO 2020 is an important step towards achieving a better ecological balance sheet for the industry, as international sea transportation generates about one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year and is responsible for 3 percent of all fine particulate matter created by human activity.

Carriers will have a number of more environmentally friendly options available to them. For example, they may choose to continue using heavy oil but also install special exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers); or switch to alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), very low sulfur fuel (VLSF), or marine diesel oil (MDO) sein.

The relevant country’s port authority is responsible for compliance with IMO 2020 and can check this with a detector and the ship’s logs. Violators will be subject to fines, ship detention, or even imprisonment.

Being a logistics service provider, DACHSER does not operate its own ships, but works with major shipping lines. “We, too, are interested in finding the most sustainable way to handle our transports,” says Rolf Mertins, Head of Global Management Ocean at DACHSER. “At the same time, we want to offer our customers scheduling reliability.”

Based on collaboration with partner carriers, DACHSER has now developed its own fuel cost model, the DACHSER Bunker Adjustment Reference Floater (DBAF). Replacing the Standard Bunker Factor (SBF) on mid- and long-term transactions, the DBAF is calculated based on the fuel prices of all relevant trades. “On this basis, we can calculate customers’ fuel-related costs irrespective of the carrier option,” Mertins concludes.

Effective December 1, 2019, there will be a Transition Environmental Fuel Fee for all Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) Freight All Kinds (FAK) businesses until further notice. The fee is in addition to any bunker charges.

For more details, please get in touch with your local DACHSER representative.

Rail service market updates | December 2021

According to statistics, the number of freight trains running between China and Europe in 2020 has increased 15 times compared to 2015, reaching the number of more than 12,000 trains last year. In 2021, a further increase was recorded and the CRE (China Railway Express) experienced even greater demand in times of the pandemic due to a lack of sea and air freight capacity. However, the pandemic impact was also evident on Rail Service connections between China and Europe.

• Current Situation and Review 2021

As experienced during the year, the situation remains challenging. The shortage of container equipment and increased slot restrictions, comparable to the sea freight market, have also become problematic for rail service. In addition, pandemic regulations as well as weather conditions have led to backlogs at border crossings. The rates are increased, but stable.

• Outlook 2022

The situation will remain challenging until Chinese New Year, but it is expected that the slot management setup will improve thereafter. Overall, the demand on capacity will continue to grow significantly in 2022.

DACHSER offers reliable multimodal rail services with an extensive coverage, connecting economic centers of major importance in China and Europe. Via the North Corridor, the so-called Trans-Siberian Route, DACHSER connects Hamburg, Warsaw, Vienna and Bratislava with the Chinese main terminal cities like Changchun, Shenyang, and Suzhou. To and from Duisburg, Hamburg, Neuss, Ludwigshafen, Vienna, Bratislava and Warsaw, DACHSER serves the West Corridor, also known as New Silk Road, to the Chinese hinterland areas of Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Zhengzhou.

Not only Block Trains but also Full Container Load (FCL) service is possible on this service, as well as Less-Than-Container-Load (LCL) which includes Consolidation Container Services (LCL-LCL) and Customer Consolidations (LCL-FCL).​​​​​​​

Should you require any other departure terminals and/or destinations like the ones mentioned above or some more detailed information on Rail Services, your DACHSER contact will be glad to assist.