In August 2022, the logistics operator Ruscon, part of the Delo Group of Companies, successfully launched a multimodal container service from Japan to Kazakhstan.

Delivery of goods is carried out by ship from the port of Kobe, Japan to the port of Vostochny, after which it goes by rail to the Almaty-1 station. Departures occur with a frequency of 1 time per month. Travel time for the marine component of the service is 5-6 days.
Through transportation in containers from Nakhodka is carried out by Ruscon together with PJSC TransContainer, which is also part of the Group. Ruscon customers have access to door-to-door delivery and forwarding services.

With the launch of the new service, customers have received an additional opportunity to more flexibly plan and organize uninterrupted cargo deliveries through the Far East.

“The development of communication with Southeast Asia is one of the top priorities for Ruscon. Taking into account the interest in expanding the territories of presence and developing new routes, we intend to concentrate our efforts to create optimal and high-quality customer services in the region,” said Marat Akhmatdinov, General Director of Ruscon Asia LLP.

Ruscon is a part of Delo Group, 3PL operator for containerized cargo delivery in Russia and the CIS based on Delo Group’s asstes. Ruscon expands its ability to provide end-to-end cargo delivery services by a range of its own transportation assets: marine terminals, fleet of trucks, flatcars, inland terminals, customs and logistics storage facilities as well as developed network of branch offices.

Delo Group is the largest transport and logistics holding in Russia, managing sea container terminals in the Azov-Black Sea, Baltic and Far Eastern basins, a network of railway container terminals, a fleet of containers and fitting platforms.

Batumi International Container Terminal – BICT, International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s – ICTSI business unit in Georgia, recently welcomed ADY Container LLC’s newly launched multimodal feeder service.

The rail-sea service connects Asia to Europe via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor. It is designed to cater to the capacity requirement of the Middle Corridor, which has seen increased freight traffic due to the growing volume transiting through Azerbaijan. Majority of the cargo handled by the service are exports from China.

For the sea leg, ADY Container and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company deployed a feeder vessel to operate the route between Port of Batumi and Constanța in Romania every 10 days. From Romania, cargo is transported by rail to different destinations in Europe.

More than 9,000 TEUs have passed through the Trans-Caspian route during the first four months of 2022 – a 30 percent increase compared to the volume from the same period last year. With the current geopolitical situation in Europe, ADY Container expects traffic through the Middle Corridor to further increase, which would also require adding more vessels to service the route.

Batumi International Container Terminal- BICT, a wholly-owned ICTSI Group company, has been active in the port of Batumi since 2007 when it acquired a 48-year lease to operate a multi-purpose terminal with exclusivity for container handling. ICTSI  is in the business of port development, management and operations  ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects are located in developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, announced it will open its first transload service facility to support international cargo along the West Coast and streamline its inland transportation for customers.

The strategically located facility supporting the Los Angeles and Long Beach area will provide port drayage and transloading services, with quick access to outbound rail and highway transport. The new facility and service will complement the company’s recent announcement to help customers accelerate the delivery of overseas freight through a long-term multi-vessel service agreement.

“The increase in import activity over recent years has created a bottleneck at the port, resulting in inefficient delays and rising costs,” said Shelley Simpson, chief commercial officer and executive vice president of people and human resources at J.B. Hunt. “We are providing customers with a complete solution that not only alleviates those challenges, it can accelerate their ability to meet domestic demand by offering a seamless port, transload, and domestic outbound move.”

To streamline port drayage, J.B. Hunt will have a company fleet dedicated to transporting inbound ocean freight from the port to the new facility, minimizing demurrage and per diem costs and accelerating the turn time to prepare freight for domestic transport. Cargo containers will be loaded directly onto company-owned marine chassis and arrive at the J.B. Hunt facility for prompt transloading into domestic trailing equipment supported by its company fleet. By eliminating the inefficiencies created with handoffs between multiple providers, customers will benefit from J.B. Hunt’s holistic solution.

“A transloading model provides customers with a more efficient flow of international containers through the supply chain by eliminating imbalanced moves and turning boxes faster,” said Darren Field, president of intermodal and executive vice president at J.B. Hunt. “Having optionality between domestic intermodal and interior-point intermodal services will be important for our customers when uncertainties remain pervasive.”

The new transloading operation, located only minutes from Interstate 5 and Interstate 710, includes a 91,000-square-foot warehouse and 8 acres of parking for up to 300 containers. With close proximity to both port and rail terminals, the facility will provide shippers with quick, preferred access to J.B. Hunt’s 53’ intermodal container fleet and highway services, including the company’s J.B. Hunt360box drop-and-hook trailer program.

J.B. Hunt opened its first transload service in November 2021 to assist shippers in the New York metro area with port drayage, transloading and inland linehaul solutions. With the announcement, J.B. Hunt now offers customers a solution for their international containers arriving into the largest port gateway market on both coasts.

J.B. Hunt operates one of the largest company-owned fleets in North America with more than 100,000 intermodal containers, 18,500 tractors and 36,000 trailers. The company’s J.B. Hunt 360° technology platform is an industry leader in digital freight matching and provides shippers with access to nearly one million trucks through qualified third-party carriers across the country.