The first freight train has set off from China to the UK on the reintroduced historic Silk Road trade route. The train, carrying household items, garments, textiles, bags and suitcases, will take around 18 days to travel more than 12,000km. The train, which left on New Year’s Day from Yiwu in eastern Zhejiang province, will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before arriving in London. According to the China Railway Corporation (CRC), London will be the 15th European city to receive freight train services from China. The CRC said the service would “improve China-Britain trade ties,…

CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s largest supply chain management companies has announced the appointment of Carlos Velez Rodriguez as Managing Director for its Australia & New Zealand cluster. Based in Melbourne, he will report to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Xavier Urbain. Velez Rodriguez joins CEVA from FM Logistic where he was Group Managing Director Central Europe for the last decade and led a team of 5,000 individuals. He has a proven track record in the logistics sector and has held a number of commercial roles at companies in Europe, the USA and Latin America. Born in Colombia, he…

European manufacturers are failing to make the most of data and analytics tools to plan and segment their supply chains, according to a new report. JDA Software Group and Warwick Manufacturing Group's (WMG) report the Supply Chain Segmentation: A Window of Opportunity for European Manufacturing found that only 18% of respondents took into account historic, present and future data in the supply chain planning process. The report surveyed 100 manufacturing organisations across Europe to benchmark their supply chain segmentation practices. Only 39% of respondents’ segmentation models were data-driven and 23% of organisations stated they prefer the use of “rules of…

APL is seeking to capitalize on the fact China is New Zealand’s second-largest trading partner for exports and third-largest for imports. CMA CGM’s newly acquired APL will begin a direct weekly service between North Asia ports and New Zealand from the end of December, increasing coverage in response to fast-growing trade with China. The New Zealand Express II, or NZ2, service will increase its port calls in New Zealand to five to strengthen APL’s presence in the Oceania trade lane. With the launch of the NZ2 service, APL will have a network of six Oceania services that connect Asia with…

The family that owns the Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry service has sold the bulk of its transport business to an Australian equity company. Champ Private Equity has agreed to buy Strait Shipping, owner of Bluebridge, and Freight Lines from the Barker family, it was announced on Tuesday. No price was mentioned in the announcement. The sale represents the end of an era for the Barker family but was in keeping with founder Jim Barker's wishes, says Strait Shipping managing director spokeswoman and Mr Barker's daughter Sheryl Ellison. "We are extremely proud of these three leading New Zealand transport businesses and…

Toll New Zealand, one of New Zealand’s largest domestic freight forwarders offering end-to-end transport services and logistics solutions, has announced that it will deploy Promapp’s cloud-based business process management software as part of the company’s ongoing continuous improvement program. Promapp will replace the company’s range of processes created and stored in Visio, Word and on their intranet which, although documented, were difficult to update and manage for the diverse business groups throughout the Toll business. “We wanted a common language for process throughout the business and sought to deploy an industry best practice solution. At the same time, we aspired…

Transport Minister Simon Bridges has officially opened Coda’s new Intermodal Freight Hub in Otahuhu, one of the largest of its type in New Zealand. The new facility will take containers of Fonterra products from plants in Whareroa and Pahiatua, and in return, send general freight from the Auckland region to Palmerston North. “This new hub will help manage import, export and domestic freight in an efficient, safe and sustainable way,” Mr Bridges says. “The new south-bound rail service from this facility will also provide freight owners with a more economic and environmentally friendly option for transporting their goods. “As an…

Manufacturers continue to face additional freight costs, as well as delays and disruptions to supply chains, with the road and rail closures following the Kaikoura Earthquake, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA). NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam says, “We have had feedback from manufacturing members describing significant delays for some products to reach their destination, some with uncertainty as to when this will be resolved. “Manufacturers are facing freight surcharges of around 15% currently, with other significant costs in adjusting and adapting their supply chains. “We support Mainfreight’s call for KiwiRail to open up a dedicated coastal…

The Coda intermodal freight hub expansion was officially opened by the Minister of Transport Hon Simon Bridges today, unlocking a new transport network for the North Island. Scott Brownlee, Chief Executive of Coda Group, the country’s leading freight management business, said based on cargo volumes, the Coda intermodal freight hub, Savill Drive in Auckland, will be one of the largest fully intermodal freight hubs in New Zealand, providing a consolidation point to bring together export, import and domestic cargo flows into one single location. “Infrastructure investment and rail connectivity were key milestones required to increase capacity and services of the…

John Lim, Managing Director for Sandvik South East Asia, cuts the ribbon and delivered a speech at the opening of Sandvik’s new distribution center in Singapore (photo: Sandvik) Sandvik has opened a new distribution centre in Singapore to meet increasing demand for its advanced stainless steel and special alloy products, particularly in South East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The new Sandvik distribution centre, which is strategically located adjacent to Changi Airport, East Singapore, is key to the company’s customer service commitment as well as its expansion plans in the region. “To improve our customer service in the…

KiwiRail has entered the coastal shipping freight market with a new NZ Connect service. The service responds to customers’ expectations of KiwiRail as a logistics partner and is a logical solution to provide innovative freight connections between Auckland and Christchurch following the Kaikoura earthquake earlier this month. NZ Connect has been developed with the support of Ports of Auckland, Lyttelton Port of Christchurch and ANL Shipping. “The disruption to New Zealand’s key supply route between Auckland and Christchurch will continue for many months as the rail and road links are rebuilt,” says KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy. “Coming up with…