The Fourth Channel of COSCO SHIPPING Land-Sea Express Successfully Launched

On June 27, a block train operated by COSCO SHIPPING for Hisense, carrying 32 40ft containers, departed from the Port of Trieste, Italy, bound for Velenje, Slovenia, and will arrive at Hisense European Factory in Velenje on June 28 before all the cargoes go on the production line. Two weeks before that, COSCO SHIPPING Land-Sea Express between Trieste, Italy and Budapest, Hungary had also started operation. The launch of the Hisense block train of the Land-Sea Express and that between Trieste and Budapest marks the official opening of the fourth channel of COSCO SHIPPING Land-Sea Express. The upgrade of the Land-Sea Express is another successful measure taken by COSCO SHIPPING to actively implement the “Belt and Road” initiative and continue to promote the development of international logistics channels.  
 

On the same day, the launching ceremony of the Hisense block train of COSCO SHIPPING China-Europe Land-Sea Express was held in Trieste, Italy. Mr. Lin Ji, Executive Vice President of COSCO SHIPPING, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Mr. Li Bin, Minister Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Italy, Mr. Massimiliano Fedriga, Chairman of the Friuli-Venice Giulia Region of the Italian Republic, and Mr. Han Jianmin, Vice President of Hisense International Marketing, also attended the event.
 

As a well-known comprehensive enterprise in China, Hisense Group boasts a product portfolio that covers household appliances, communications, and other industries. Hisense has 29 industrial parks across Asia, Europe, Africa, South America and other places, with products exported to more than 160 countries and regions around the world.
 

COSCO SHIPPING is the largest shipping company in the world, operating a fleet of more than 1,400 vessels with a comprehensive transportation capacity of over 112 million DWT. Among them, the containership fleet comprises of 507 ships/3.04 million DWT, ranking among the top in the world.
 

Hisense Group and COSCO SHIPPING share a long history of cooperation in the supply chain area. The two parties not only have carried out extensive cooperation in global container shipping, but also at the Port of Piraeus and for the Land-Sea Express Line.
 

The Port of Piraeus is an important gateway and hub for the Mediterranean through Central and Eastern Europe. The Land-Sea Express Line is a new channel connecting the Port of Piraeus with Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and other Central and Eastern European regions and the Mediterranean. The main channel of the port, the auxiliary channel of Rijeka in Croatia, and the Valencia-Madrid-Bilbao channel in Spain have formed a new convenient channel for China's exports to Europe and European goods entering China.
 

On November 11, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Greece. During his visit to the Port of Piraeus, he pointed out that the Port is a successful example of mutual complementarity, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between China and Greece. It is hoped that the two countries will make persistent efforts to follow up the construction and development of the Port, realizing the goal of turning the Port into a regional logistics distribution center, and continuously build the Land-Sea Express.
 

The opening of the fourth channel is an important measure for COSCO SHIPPING to take advantage of the Port of Piraeus and give full play to its pivotal role to strengthen its service network and customer service capabilities in Europe.
 

Hisense Group acquired Gorenje, the fourth largest home appliance manufacturer in Europe in 2018. It moved Hisense European headquarters to Velenje, Slovenia, retained the original Gorenje factory and local workers, and expanded its production capacity to meet the needs of the European market and even the U.S. . However, since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging around the world, casting an impact on the international supply chains and many international companies. Hisense 's factory in Velenje, Slovenia, also encountered a bottleneck in the supply chain.
 

Over the past year, the shortage of trucks and truck drivers in European countries, and the soaring oil prices have disrupted the cost and efficiency of inland transportation of the Hisense Velenje factory. The stability of its import and export supply chain has thus been affected. Given this reality, COSCO SHIPPING's Land-Sea Express Line can provide a sound solution to the supply chain bottleneck through sea-rail intermodal with the scale effect of transportation.
 

In response to the needs in Hisense's supply chain, COSCO SHIPPING actively communicated and negotiated with Trieste Marine Terminal, T.O.DELTA, etc. to optimize the design of its railway routes. Relying on the Port of Piraeus and the inland railway resources in Europe, COSCO SHIPPING successfully launched the Hisense block train, connecting the Port of Trieste in Italy and Velenje in Slovenia. With the development of the block train service, the electrical appliances and raw materials produced by Hisense from China can arrive at the Port of Piraeus by sea and be transited to the Port of Trieste through the feeder service, before being delivered by the block train from the Port of Trieste to Hisense's Velenje factory. At the same time, Hisense's high-end electrical products made in Velenje, including refrigerators, washing machines, etc., will also be transported to Trieste by the block train, and then loaded on COSCO SHIPPING containerships to Spain, the United Kingdom, and even the U.S., Australia and other places. With the special train service, the efficiency and stability of Hisense Group's logistics supply chain in Europe will be guaranteed in the long run.
 

Italy is one of the most important markets for COSCO SHIPPING in Europe. And Trieste is an important port of call for COSCO SHIPPING in Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Currently, COSCO SHIPPING has a trunk line AEM6 to the Far East and a regional line AGX connecting Piraeus with Trieste. The launch of the Hisense block train on the Land-Sea Express will bring greater stability to the cargo supply to the Port of Trieste.
 

With the upgrade of the Land-Sea Express service, the supply chain service network of COSCO SHIPPING in Europe will also be further expanded. The regional feeder network, "Diamond Line", combined with the application of digital tools, will continue to improve the capacity of COSCO SHIPPING Land-Sea Express to help multinational companies create a new supply chain delivery model and leverage the advantages of convenient delivery. The service upgrade will play a greater role in further promoting economic and trade exchange and cooperation between China and Europe, as well as between Europe and other countries in the world.

Source: COSCO SHIPPING

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