On 25 September 2008, YICT and Sinotrans Guangdong officially signed an agreement, establishing their cooperation on terminal and feeder services, warehousing, and freight forwarding to further improve the efficiency of the local logistics industry.
The agreement focuses mainly on barge and intermodal freight forwarding services. Under the agreement, YICT will offer favourable berth allocation terms and expedited customs clearance to one of Sinotrans Guangdong's subsidiaries, which will operate a Zhongshan-Yantian shuttle barge service. If the first barge service runs smoothly, then more barge services will be possible.
The agreement also covers multimodal cooperation as YICT will provide container rail services to Sinotrans Guangdong or other Sinotrans subsidiaries. Moreover, the two companies will closely cooperate on freight forwarding, shipping agency services, consolidation, and the planned construction of an inland port.
By capitalising on each other's strengths, YICT and Sinotrans Guangdong will improve their competitiveness within their respective markets. On the one hand, YICT has an average of 88 weekly shipping services operated by a total of 43 shipping lines, including the world's top 20. Yantian Port also boasts warehousing and distribution centres established by world-renowned logistics companies and exporters, forming a sophisticated logistics network. On the other, Sinotrans Guangdong's branches in Huangpu, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Foshan and Zhanjiang provide comprehensive warehousing and terminal services. In 2007 alone, the total container throughput from its river trade terminals in the Pearl River Delta reached over 2.53 million TEU. The company also offers specialised international freight forwarding services.
Cooperation between YICT and Sinotrans Guangdong will ultimately benefit importers in South China in that they will be provided with time-saving and cost-effective logistics solutions.
Photo Caption: On 25 September 2008, Mr. Zeng De(right) , General Manager of Sinotrans Guangdong, and Mr. Kenneth Tse, Managing Director of YICT, sign an agreement to cooperate on logistics services.