International Container Shipping Company Makes "Strategic Advance Layout" for Shanghai Port

The establishment of an international transit consolidation center in the Lingang New Area saved 18 days for the first batch of containers

Maersk "strategic advance layout"

■The proportion of international transit business in many world-class ports is more than 50%, and the proportion of similar business in Shanghai Port has been below 20% for many years - this "pain point" is being dissolved

■The geographical location of Shanghai Port is unique, the container volume brings scale effect, the superimposed policy environment is further optimized, and the industry leader is bound to drive more enterprises to follow up

Recently, Maersk, the world's No. 1 container shipping company, inaugurated an international transit consolidation center in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The layout of shipping company giants is regarded as a weather vane - the international shipping community realizes that the results of Shanghai Port to further expand its shipping functions and enhance the energy level of the international shipping center have appeared.

Many world-class ports account for more than 50% of the international transit business. For Shanghai Port, which has ranked first in the world in terms of container throughput for many years, the proportion of international transshipment consolidation business has been below 20% for many years. There is a consensus in the industry: Shanghai has the advantage of being a hub in Northeast Asia and the world's leading automated terminal, but it has been dragged back by the convenience of ships and goods entering and leaving the port, resulting in the loss of a large number of value-added services.

This "pain point" is being dissolved. With the establishment of the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, a number of innovative policies and institutional breakthroughs have been implemented one after another.

At the end of 2020, the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone landed the first cross-regulatory area international transit consolidation business in China, and the proportion of international transit consolidation business in Shanghai Port increased by 18% that year, ranking first among international hub ports in terms of growth rate. In 2021, the Customs simplified the entry filing project for goods departed from overseas and entered warehouses in the FTZ for dismantling and final departure, and the LCL volume of Shanghai Port International Transit Container reached 4 million boxes.

At the end of last year, the State Council officially announced the "Overall Plan for Promoting High-level Institutional Opening-up in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Comprehensively Docking with International High-standard Economic and Trade Rules" (hereinafter referred to as the "Overall Plan"), which clearly proposes to optimize the operation mode of the international transit consolidation platform, attract global LCL enterprises to set up LCL centers in the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and allow multi-format operations such as export LCL and international transit dismantling and LCL.

In this context, Maersk began to evaluate various factors such as the route layout of Shanghai Port, the operational efficiency of international transit consolidation, and the customs clearance environment of the port, and successively carried out international transit consolidation business process testing at Shanghai Port at the end of last year. The first batch of containers departed from Kaohsiung Port, completed unpacking and consolidation at Shanghai Port, and then sent to Spain and the Czech Republic, shortening the whole transit time by 10 days and 8 days respectively compared with the original route.

In fact, the geographical location of Shanghai Port is unique, due to the shorter routes, carrying out similar business in Shanghai Port can help enterprises save about 15% of the cost and 20% of the time. In addition, the container volume of Shanghai Port has brought scale effects, and labor costs, port charges, and warehouse fees are relatively low. The further optimization of the policy environment has made Maersk determined to lay out an international transit consolidation center in the Lingang New Area. The fall of the industry leader is bound to drive more enterprises to follow up, and it can also open up more new routes for Shanghai.

The reporter learned from the relevant person in charge of the Management Committee of the Lingang New Area that Maersk is more of a "strategic advance layout" this time. On the one hand, it is to help Lingang test the system and test the pressure, on the other hand, the policy may be further relaxed in the future, and Maersk will be more familiar with the process in the run-in with the regulatory authorities, which will bring a first-mover advantage.

According to the Overall Plan, the transit goods that depart from overseas and are reloaded, split and consolidated through the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and then transported to other countries or regions will not be inspected (except as otherwise provided by laws and regulations). If this policy can be implemented as soon as possible, the international transit consolidation business of Shanghai Port will have a greater degree of freedom of operation, which is more in line with the international rules.

The Management Committee of Lingang New Area said that it is intensively investigating the actual needs of enterprises in international economic and trade exchanges, and on this basis, the specific implementation regulations will be implemented, with less declaration process and more insensible supervision, so that enterprises can pay as little time, energy and cost as possible, and then put more high value-added value-added business in Shanghai Port to enhance the energy level of Shanghai International Shipping Center.