Panalpina, one of the world’s leading less-than-containerload service providers, has expanded its offerings in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Panalpina’s latest LCL offering now includes four sailings per week from Shanghai to Singapore, an industry first, and two new exclusive services from Egypt to Singapore and from India to Switzerland via Italy.

Less-than-containerload (LCL) services are an important tool for shippers to optimize their international supply chains. Therefore, expanding and improving the global LCL network remains a key priority for Panalpina, noted Clas Thorell, global head of ocean freight LCL at Panalpina.

“We want to make it easier for our customers to do business globally,” he said. “These solutions are unique to Panalpina and they showcase how we constantly upgrade our LCL network.”

The latest additions to the global LCL network provide Panalpina’s customers with more options to transport their goods efficiently throughout the world. The Shanghai to Singapore route has increased in frequency and is now available four times a week, while Egypt to Singapore and India to Switzerland via Italy run once per week.

The Shanghai to Singapore service is geared towards the technology industry, according to Thorell. “Because of short lead times of just seven days from port to port, and the unparalleled high frequency, this service provides a strong alternative to air freight,” he said.

The launch of a weekly service from Alexandria, Egypt to Singapore follows Panalpina’s acquisition in 2015 of its former agent Afifi in Egypt. This service connects Panalpina’s local and international customers in Egypt to the company’s LCL network via the Singapore hub, thereby opening up markets in Asia and beyond.

The third exclusive LCL offering recently launched by Panalpina, consists of a weekly service from Nhava Sheva, India, to Basel via Italy. It is the only direct service to Switzerland in the market that enters Europe through a southern port. Traditionally, LCL shipments from the west coast of India to Switzerland are routed through the ports of the Hamburg-Antwerp range. This new service routes consolidated containers from the port of La Spezia in Italy by railway to Basel.

“As a result, transit time is reduced by ten days,” said Thorell, “which is particularly interesting for Panalpina’s Swiss customers in retail and fashion, but also for customers in the technology, machinery and other sectors. The journey between container freight stations now takes 22 instead of 32 days. That is simply not possible when entering Europe through one of the northern ports.”

The new route cuts the final European ocean leg, which reduces total CO2 emissions by up to 27 percent.

Panalpina added 20 additional LCL services in 2015, focused on intra-Asia, Asia-to-U.S., and Latin America-to-Europe. Panalpina offers approximately 500 LCL services in total.