DB Schenker combines rail, road and air to beat ocean
20 / 03 / 2015
German logistics giant DB Schenker has combined rail, road and air freight to transport 21 tonnes of cell phone electronics from China to South America across three continents.
The consignment was transported by rail from Chongqing in central China to Duisburg, Germany, via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland. The next step was a truck journey to Frankfurt airport, from where DB Schenker sent the cargo to Brazil.
The combination of modes shortened the journey time from Asia to South America by almost four weeks compared with using ocean freight alone.
The 10,124 km rail trip to Duisburg took 17 days. The goods spent a total of 24 days in transit before reaching their destination in Brazil. The alternative trip by ocean would have taken between 50 and 55 days.
The freight was labelled, X-rayed and securely packaged by DB Schenker’s central hub at Frankfurt airport, from where it was sent to its final destination in Brazil.
"This first successful shipment combining rail, road and air freight has shown the growth potential of multimodal logistics," said Daniel Wieland, head of rail logistics & forwarding at DB Schenker Logistics.
