JOC Staff | Nov 11, 2011 4:42PM EST
ABF Freight System is extending its move toward international business with a less-than-containerload ocean offering the carrier will combine with its U.S. less-than-truckload operation for full supply chain services for shippers.
The unit of Arkansas Best will offer what it calls Ocean LTL out of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan operating as a non-vessel-operating common carrier and will expedite shipments up to 40 percent faster than what it calls traditional LCL sources.
The company, which counted $1.53 billion in revenue last year, began offering a full-containerload ocean service in 2006, but is expanding its international reach and will include the LCL service in the ABF Supply Chain Services division at the center of that expansion.
The idea, said ABF Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing Roy Slagle, is to offer services “from the Asian manufacturer’s floor” to domestic delivery location.
That puts ABF’s service in line with other U.S. LTL carriers that have pushed their presence into China to get a grip on goods earlier in the distribution channels.