Gebrüder Weiss has expanded its network in the south of Turkey with a new location in Mersin on the eastern Mediterranean Sea noting how Turkey has become more important for rail transport on the New Silk Road between Asia and Europe.

In a statement, Gebrüder Weiss said activities carried out from the country's second-largest port include air and sea freight services, as well as intermodal land transport noting that Mersin is a central logistics hub on the Mediterranean Sea for shipments to the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

"Turkey is an emerging growth market and, with its location on the Mediterranean Sea, an important freight handling facility for transports between Asia and Europe. Mersin represents another region being developed by us for our customers, following on from Istanbul and Izmir," says Wolfram Senger-Weiss, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss.

"Favorable transport connections to the Mediterranean region as well as the proximity to industrial operations in the hinterland are all advantages offered by the new location."

Mersin is connected to the northern economic centers of Kahramanmaras, Konya, and Kayseri, from which mainly textile and agricultural products, chemical industry and mechanical engineering are exported.

"The key factor is the location's immediate proximity to producers. In addition to air and sea freight services, we also offer local customers pharmaceutical and multimodal transports as well as warehouse logistics and customs clearance," commented Çiler Keskinel, country manager of Air & Sea Turkey at Gebrüder Weiss.

Turkey importance as "Silk Road" hub

Gebrüder Weiss said the country serves an important gateway function on the so-called "Middle Corridor" of the New Silk Road towards Central Asia and China offering an alternative to the transport via the Northern Corridor through Russia, running from Turkey (Istanbul), Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan to China.

"We have our own locations in most of the countries along the Middle Corridor and are familiar with the local legal and cultural particulars in these regions. We are also seeing increased demand from our customers for shipments on this route," Senger-Weiss added, noting that the transit time is currently between 35 and 45 days, as the route also crosses the Caspian Sea.

Mersin is the third Gebrüder Weiss location in Turkey, in addition to Istanbul and Izmir, where the company has been organizing partial-load transports along with air and sea freight services since 2012.

Gebrüder Weiss said by taking over the freight forwarder 3S Transport & Logistik last year, Gebrüder Weiss also further expanded its transport from Istanbul to Germany.