SIMIC

China and the southeast Asian regions are facing flight suspensions and reductions, space limits and operational restrictions in addition to long waits at border crossings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the press release.

CEVA Logistics introduced TRT as a practical and innovative multi-modal transport solution to remedy these issues. Several CEVA technology customers have already taken advantage of it to keep their cargo moving over the last month.

Export documentation requirements for the TRT service are the same as an all-trucked service and customs clearance can be done in the same way.

The China-Vietnam road border crossing point between Pingxiang and Lang Son currently suffers from backlogs of two-to-four days. To avoid this, shipments are picked up by CEVA across south and east China and loaded into 45?hi-cube containers.

These are taken by truck to the cross-border train - which operates three times a day - and into Vietnam, where they are then unloaded onto trucks and delivered to final destination, said the press release.

"Shipments bound for Thailand which were taking up to eight days are now arriving in three-to-four days. The new service is also being used by CEVA customers in Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore," it said.

"With TRT, serious traffic jams at the border crossings can be avoided. We keep exploring our road and rail network between China and Southeast Asia for further developments," said CEVA Logistics operating chief Guillaume Col.