UWL, in partnership with Swire Shipping, has linked a new dedicated barge service from Phnom Pehn, Cambodia to its express ocean transportation service between Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and Seattle that allows shippers in Cambodia to reach the U.S. West Coast in a mere 25 days, faster than any other service provider in the trade.
UWL, a top-10 American-owned NVOCC and leading provider of global 3PL services, said the new feeder service will provide importers with guaranteed access to equipment and capacity in Phnom Penh and reduce reliance on expensive cross-border trucking between Cambodian factories and the Port of Ho Chi Minh City.
UWL has contracted with Swire Shipping, a multi-purpose liner service, to provide the container tug and barge service from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh. After a short 18-24 hour transit, containers are loaded onto the 18-day, bi-weekly Sun Chief service from Ho Chi Minh to Seattle. The service was forged through a revolutionary agreement in which UWL became the first NVOCC to provide dedicated ocean service in the trade.
“During this highly volatile time in the shipping industry, customers have been looking for faster, reliable service to the West Coast,” said UWL President Duncan Wright. “Our goal with this new service is to provide a predictable, premium product connecting 100 percent to Seattle on every express voyage from Ho Chi Minh. By doing so we will help importers reduce their supply chain risk.”
UWL’s express service from Vietnam to Seattle, which was inaugurated earlier this year, has been well received by customers. Linking Cambodia with this service is seen as a natural extension into another important Asian market where there are no direct calls and no good connections from Phnom Penh to the U.S. West Coast, resulting in transits that can take as many as 50 to 60 days.
UWL’s new feeder service from Cambodia not only cuts those transit times in half but provides importers with other advantages associated with the express Ho Chi Minh – Seattle service. Those include priority berthing at both origin and destination and a dedicated equipment pool for suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City. This includes 6,000 brand-new ocean containers, with 40-foot-high cube and 20-foot containers already in the rotation. Predictability is assured, as schedules are published six months in advance, with two sailings per month.
Upon arrival in Seattle, those needing warehousing or distribution space can take advantage of UWL’s sister company, World Distribution Services (WDS), and its brand-new 300,000 sq. ft. facility near Tacoma, Wash, just a short drive away from the Port of Seattle.
“We are expanding our presence in the Asia Pacific market, and this new service is indicative of our commitment to grow to meet the supply chain needs of our customers in the market,” said Wright.
