Box carrier APL is expanding its intra-Asia service network with the launch of a new Japan Taiwan 6 (JT6) Service and an upgraded Japan Thailand 2 (JT2) Service.
The new JT6 Service links Japan, Taiwan, and South China with the Philippines, while the upgraded JT2 Service adds seven more ports of call in the key hubs of Japan, Taiwan, South China, and Thailand.
“It is noteworthy that the two weekly short sea services will call the major transshipment hubs of Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, enabling our Asian shippers to plug into APL’s wider network for global connectivity,” said Tonnie Lim, APL head of intra-Asia trade.
The upgraded JT2 Service features market access to Bangkok to augment the shipping line’s current port call in Laem Chabang in Thailand. Further, it includes additional calls to Keelung and Taichung so shippers can benefit from a new Japan to Taiwan route.
The route will have its first sailing from Bangkok on December 2, 2016, and will follow a port rotation of Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Tokyo, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shekou, Laem Chabang, and Bangkok.
Meantime, the new JT6 Service covers the route North and South Manila in the Philippines to the Kanto and Kansai regions of Japan, with competitive transit times from Japan to South China and South China to Manila. In addition, the service provides a weekend shipment booking cutoff time for the Kobe export market. This complements the APL Japan Thailand Vietnam (JTV) Service that has a mid-week cutoff time, providing an alternative choice for customers to tap into the Kobe market.
The new service will have its first sailing from Kaohsiung on December 2, 2016 and has a port rotation of Kaohsiung, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, Yokohama, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Nansha, Shekou, and North and South Manila.
At the same time, APL announced the launch in the middle of this month of a new Red Sea Express 2 (RE2) Service that directly links China to the Red Sea ports of Jeddah, Sokhna, and Aqaba in a move to expand its Asia-Middle East presence.
Serving the Shanghai and Ningbo export market with additional shipment booking cutoff times, the RE2 Service complements the APL Red Sea Express Express (REX) Service and provides an alternative choice for customers to tap into the China market.
The RE2 Service will be calling the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Port Klang, Jeddah, Sokhna, Aqaba, Djibouti, and Singapore. Its first sailing is slated for November 14, 2016 from Shanghai.
