COSCO Shipping Holdings has launched its logistics division, joining rivals Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), and CMA CGM in the D2D world of the 3PL, reports London’s Loadstar.
The state-controlled group said, in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing, it wanted to optimise warehousing, trucking, container distribution, sea and rail freight, customs clearance, air freight and LCL transportation.
The windfall reaped by liner operators in the last two years, the result of logistical bottlenecks, has encouraged ocean carriers to invest in the logistics field.
There had been signs that cosco wanted to enlarge its logistics capabilities. On October 1, it was announced that Cosco Shipping Lines would take a seven per cent stake in affiliate Cosco Shipping Logistics Supply Chain, describing the move as ‘a strategic investment’.
Said Hua Chuang Securities: ‘Cosco Shipping Holdings is positioning itself as a digitised supply chain operation with container shipping as the core. Gaining an interest in its 3PL affiliate will improve its end-to-end service network.’
