Dachser South China has signed a charter contract with Chinese e-commerce logistics company 4PX Express to handle a large part of its air freight to Europe.

According to Dachser, a new dedicated weekly Boeing 747-400F flight has been launched to transport the anticipated 3,900 tonnes of air freight between Hong Kong and Liege from April 2018 until the end of January 2019.

“International trade is gradually diversifying from a traditional buying and selling model into an e-commerce driven model where online-savvy customers set the pace,” said Edoardo Podestá, managing director of air and sea logistics at Dachser Asia Pacific. “This new contract shows that Dachser Asia Pacific is fully engaged in this new and diversified environment and can support customers in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.”

Under the contract, Dachser South China will handle approximately one third of 4PX Express’ total business to Europe and will charter a total of 39 flights with a volume of 100 tonnes each. This service was set up in order to help 4PX with the establishment of its European central distribution centre in Liege, where different commodities purchased via e-commerce platforms will be dispatched across Europe.

“Our experience in the air freight business gives us the capability to offer professional air freight charter management to 4PX,” said Kevin Chen [left in photo], managing director of air and sea logistics at Dachser South China.

The company’s presence in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and other major cities in southern China means that there is a guaranteed quick and direct response to the local 4PX teams, according to Dachser.