DCL EXPANDS SERVICE FROM JAPAN TO AUSTRALIA

DCL EXPANDS SERVICE FROM JAPAN TO AUSTRALIA    Direct Container Line has started a twice-weekly direct consolidation service between Japan and Australia.
   The service is available from Japan’s Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama to Australia’s Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Port-to-port transit times from Tokyo and Yokohama are 17 days to Sydney, 20 days to Melboune, and 25 days to Brisbane. From Osaka and Kobe, port-to-port transits are as fast as 13 days to Sydney, 16 days to Melbourne and 21 days to Brisbane.
   The non-vessel-operating common carrier, a subsidiary of Southern California-based NACA Logistics Group, handles 21 percent of all consolidation volume in the Japan-to-Australia trade, according to the Japan International Freight Forwarding Association.
   DCL said that while volume from North America to Australia this year has been flat due to the strong U.S. dollar, exports from Japan to the South Pacific for the company have been particularly strong. For less than containerload traffic, volumes are up 5.9 percent, while full containerload traffic is higher by 15 percent, DCL said.
   The NVO has had a presence in Japan since 1987, and has branch offices in Tokyo and Osaka. It also has container freight stations in 12 Japanese cities: Hakata, Hamamatsu, Hiroshima, Kobe, Nagoya, Naha-Okinawa, Osaka, Sapporo, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai and Yokohama.
   In Australia, DCL has offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Import operations of the NVO are managed by NACA subsidiary Vanguard Logistics Services. DCL is Australia also arranges for on-forwarding transportation to Adelaide, Burnie, Caims, Fremantle, Hobart, Townsville, and more than 25 points in neighboring Pacific islands.