Manufacturing & Supply Chain

The international transport and info-logistics provider has strengthened its LCL service offering with further connections now from India, Thailand and Vietnam via Koper to Europe. Transport via the Mediterranean port of Koper allows for significant time savings for shipments to Southern Europe compared to routings via Northern ports.

With cargo-partner’s seafreight consolidation service via the Slovenian port of Koper, the logistics provider offers a faster alternative to shipping via Northern ports such as Hamburg or Bremerhaven. In recent months, cargo-partner has expanded its LCL services via Koper with new connections from Nhava Sheva in India, Lat Krabang in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Port-to-port transit times average around 18 days from Nhava Sheva, around 25 days from Lat Krabang and around 25-28 days from Ho Chi Minh City to Koper. 

“The new routing via Koper fits very well into our long-established service portfolio of seven direct own consolidation lines from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, our faster consolidation services via the Iron Silk Road, our airfreight and FCL setup and the e-commerce distribution center next to Ljubljana airport. The Koper services allow us to offer significant time savings compared to routings via Northern ports, and our iLogistics Center in Ljubljana provides the ideal hub for fast distribution. Thanks to our own consolidation service, we have direct control over handling at origin and destination,” says Stefan Krauter, CEO of cargo-partner. He adds: “Despite the turbulences of COVID-19, we have been able to offer regular weekly departures. This premium service is not only faster, but also safer and more reliable than other options, as the containers are shipped directly without reloading, which means minimal risk of damage and delays.” 

The most recent addition is the service from Ludhiana via Nhava Sheva and Koper to Europe. In addition to weekly or more frequent LCL services from Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai, cargo-partner has now introduced two weekly LCL services from Ludhiana. Goods coming from these regions in India are consolidated in Nhava Sheva and shipped directly to Koper. From there, cargo-partner handles transport to the container freight station in Ljubljana as well as further distribution to numerous countries in Central and Southeastern Europe. 

Stefan Krauter explains: “Thanks to the short transit times we can offer with this service, it is gaining popularity not only in Southern Europe, but also in other European countries like Poland and the Czech Republic. At the moment, we are handling a lot of heavy cargo from the automotive, engineering and metal industries on this route. However, this service is also a convenient and reliable option for sensitive cargoes and goods from other industries.”

He continues: “Due to the effects of COVID-19, we have seen reduced seafreight volumes in the past several months, which tends to lead to a shift from FCL to LCL shipments. With our flexible buyer’s and shipper’s consolidation services, we can bundle low-volume shipments from different suppliers and effectively transport them as FCL shipments, ensuring speed and security. In fact, our LCL consols enjoy priority and special protection over normal FCL containers, so this is a convenient option for customers with urgent transports, especially during these times of blank sailings and limited capacities.” 

As one of the leading providers of LCL transports in Central and Eastern Europe, cargo-partner offers a wide range of LCL services from numerous origins worldwide, with particular expertise in westbound shipments from the Far East. Another solution making use of the Koper hub is cargo-partner’s weekly LCL service from Haifa, Israel with port-to-port transit times of around five days. In addition, cargo-partner’s LCL service offering includes a variety of other connections covering the origin regions Asia and Sub-Sahara as well as destinations throughout Europe. cargo-partner CEO Stefan Krauter emphasizes the strategic importance of LCL transports for the company: “Consolidated transports by seafreight constitute a major part of cargo-partner’s strategic strengths and one of the growth drivers of our company. We always strive to offer the most direct, point-to-point services with the goal of cutting down transit times and avoiding any unnecessary handling fees and risks. Earlier this year, we set up a centralized LCL development program at our headquarters to ensure a consistent focus as we continue to invest into the systematic expansion of our worldwide portfolio of LCL services.”