DHL announced the launch of its direct Less than Container Load (LCL) service from Los Angeles to Xingang - Tianjin enhancing its connectivity between North America and Northern China. Through Danmar Lines, DHL Global Forwarding's in-house carrier, the new weekly direct LCL services enables shipments to arrive up to a week earlier. From Xingang -Tianjin, shipments can be further distributed within Northern China - Beijing, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Taiyuan, Datong and Baotou, etc.

The launch of the new service taps into the key trade lanes for businesses in the United States. China remains the third-largest export market for American-made products, behind only Canada and Mexico. US exports to China totaled $71.5 billion in 2008.' In 2008, the top product exports to China overall were computers and electronics (including components), agricultural products, chemicals and transportation equipment. California continues to be the largest exporter of goods and commodities to China.

With the introduction of this weekly guaranteed service, exporters in the US can now ship their cargo from Los Angeles, directly to Northern China, instead of being routed via Hong Kong, hence reducing transit times by seven to eight days, while increasing business efficiency and competitiveness.

LCL DHL Danmar

'DHL recognizes LCL as being a crucial part of a total Ocean Freight system. With more than 2,000,000 cubic meters of LCL freight handled annually via 45,000 point pairs within the DHL in-house system, DHL Global Forwarding has the world's largest LCL network.' Tara Caputo, Head of LCL, North America, said: 'Our first priority is to serve all major markets with direct consolidations from our strong network of national gateways. With the expansion of direct LCL service in China, DHL has further strengthened its Ocean Freight business and market leading position when it comes to in-house LCL services.'

Caputo said: 'DHL offers global depth and flexibility which is unmatched in the industry. With on-going efforts to expand our own operated, weekly guaranteed, LCL services globally, DHL is constantly aligning itself with the changing market and responding to changing customer needs, demonstrating our commitment to be customers' First Choice,' We will continue to bring fast, cost-efficient and reliable services to the market and help our customer succeed even in the most challenging business environments.'

'Today's launch of new LCL services reflects our continued confidence in the US/China market and also deepens our commitment to being a reliable and trusted partner for American businesses,' said Steen Christensen, Sr. Vice President Ocean Freight North America.. We encourage companies especially those small and medium sized enterprises (SME) which have been seeking flexibility and cost-effectiveness to use our LCL service, a fast, reliable and cost-efficient end-to-end solution providing the right combination of delivery times and costs for enterprises' ocean freight needs.'

These new services join DHL Global Forwarding's growing portfolio of direct LCL services launched in 2009.

Prior to the Los Angeles to Xingang - Tianjin LCL service, DHL Global Forwarding has launched six other direct LCL services from the U.S. to meet increasing demand for its services. DHL's newly launched routes this year include:

  • New York /Lodz, Poland
  • New York/Zurich, Switzerland
  • New York/Keelung, Taiwan
  • Chicago/ Hong Kong
  • Chicago/Santos, Brazil
  • Los Angeles/Iquique, Chile
Less than Container Load (LCL) refers to smaller amounts of ocean freight cargo that are insufficient to fill a Full Container Load (FCL) on its own. The service is widely used by customers across many industries as it offers greater flexibility in the management of supply chains by being able to ship smaller quantities on a timelier basis. US Ex