John S. Connor, Inc., a full service logistics company based in Glen Burnie, MD, has recently formed a strategic alliance with Orient Star Group to exclusively offer Less-than-Container Load (LCL) inbound service from Shanghai direct to the Port of Baltimore on a weekly basis. Until now, this type of service had never been available to Baltimore.

Orient Star Group is a logistics company and licensed NVOCC forwarder with 18 offices throughout Asia. "John S. Connor and Orient Star Group have been cooperating on logistics ventures for our mutual customers for over 15 years," stated Hillary Ye, China business development manager at Connor. "It has been a very successful alliance for both companies as well as for our customers."

Richard Higgins, director of sales and marketing at Connor, said that the new service offers a number of major advantages. "Shippers can now avoid the congestion delays that are experienced in other east coast ports," he stated. "Also, it means lower costs in inland deliveries and container freight station unloading charges."

In June of last year, John S. Connor opened an office in Shanghai in order to establish stronger trade between China and the east coast of the United States. "Our goal was to enhance the company's ability to service shipping customers in China with all logistics aspects including operations, Internet tracking and tracing, and customs clearance," stated Lee Connor, president of John S. Connor. "This new exclusive service to Baltimore is another example of our commitment to the China trade lane."