DHL is enhancing its less-than-containerload (LCL) services with the launching of a direct connection from Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan to Chicago. According to the carrier, the weekly, guaranteed service will reduce transit times by as much as three days over current offerings. LCL freight bound for Chicago from the two Japanese cities is usually shipped by sea to Los Angeles, where the container is deconsolidated and reloaded with other freight for the journey to Chicago. DHL's new consolidation service bypasses rehandling in Los Angeles, with containers instead transferred directly to the railroad. Elimination of the deconsolidation step also reduces the risk of freight damage and loss, DHL said. The new services join DHL Global Forwarding's portfolio of direct LCL services in Japan. Shippers moving export cargo from Tokyo to the U.S., Europe and China can access direct LCL service to more than 10 cities, the carrier said.
DHL