The two biggest problems that international buyers sourcing from China have been faced with lately are the skyrocketing shipping rates and extended shipping time. These two problems have resulted in long lead times and pricy freight costs. So, to cope with this situation, Keen Sourcing recommends a new logistics solution for European buyers—China-Europe truck transportation.
China-Europe truck transportation, following transportation by air, sea and railway, is the new mode of transportation and is also called the fourth cross-border channel. The following is how it runs: The European standard TIR trucks, departing from Alashankou port in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and driving all the way through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and other EU countries, directly transport the freight to buyers’ designated warehouses for unloading without opening boxes or inspection. In this way, door-to-door delivering to a certain European country can be achieved within 15 to 25 days, and the rates of transportation by truck are only 1/3 of the air transportation. Truck transportation offers a feasible and profitable mode of transportation for cross-border e-commerce to solve their products in huge stock.
The route of China-EU truck transportation: Shenzhen (loading containers), Mainland China—Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (port of exit)—Kazakhstan—Russia—Belarus Belarus—Poland/Hungary/Czech Republic/Germany/Belgium/UK (the country where the final customs clearance will be done depends on special circumstances). The entire process from loading to delivering usually takes 15-25 days.
Comprehensive analysis of the cost performance of each transportation mode:
Sea Freight:
Sea transportation has the longest history of transporting goods, and is currently the main logistics channel to support the entire international supply chain network in terms of the volume of goods. In the course of trade, the freight is usually settled by containers, whether in the front-end reservation of containers or in the back-end customs inspection. Though applicable for large shipments, the sea transportation is not suitable for small scale sellers who may not endure the long shipping time, influences of pirates, violent storms and waves, and the delay caused by congestion and block in the port.
Click and know more about Sea Freight Shipping: Guide for Sea Freight Shipping from China
Air Freight:
Transportation by air is bound to become the only main mode for the global e-commerce trade and cross-border supply chain network in the days ahead. The characteristics of air transportation are fast in speed, high price in cost and high level in security. However, these characteristics are presented through the comparison among the four modes and are mainly favored by high value-added products. In other word, products with lower prices in bulk are not suitable for air transportation.
China-Europe Railway Train Freight:
In order to make up for the shortcomings of truck trains in cross-border transportation, railway trains have been adopted. China-Europe railway freight trains, which occupy a major share of the market, have become the backbone of international logistics by land transportation since 2011 with its features of short distance, fast speed and high security as well as its advantages of environmental protection and low impact by the natural environment. The train has a fixed schedule and thereby can not deliver products according to customers’ requirement. Besides, the train only stops at the unloading sites and can not offer customers’ door-to-door delivery.
China-Europe Truck Transportation:
In the transportation by truck, a container truck, usually carrying 45-feet containers, is loaded from warehouses designated by customers to supervised warehouses in ports of Alashankou, Baketu and Huoerguosi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region where the TIR foreign container truck takes over the job. The route of China-EU truck transportation: Shenzhen (loading containers), Mainland China—Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (port of exit)—Kazakhstan—Russia—Belarus Belarus—Poland/Hungary/Czech Republic/Germany/Belgium/UK. Using China-Europe truck transportation, products can be delivered directly to the address designated by customers for customs clearance and unloading. Door-to-door service and 24 hours operation is realized with faster speed. The rates of transportation by truck are only 1/3 of the air transportation, perfect for delivering FBA warehouse products. China-Europe truck transportation, following transportation by air, sea and railway, is the new mode of transportation that uses large trucks to deliver goods from China to Europe and is also called the fourth cross-border channel. The air transportation in the peak season is not as cost-effective as the transportation by truck, especially during the current pandemic period when the airline business has been globally affected. Many airline companies have to suspend flights, which aggravates the already very limited capacity of air transportation. What’s worse, if the pandemic gets much more serious, the flights will be overbooked and goods in airports will pile up with no end in sight. Compared with transportation by sea and railway, transportation by truck is faster and safer.
With our professional logistics assistance, you don’t have to worry about importing from China. As the best sourcing agent company, Keen Sourcing makes your sourcing in China much more easier.
