They have forced many companies to look for alternatives to receive products from China. More and more Spanish logistics companies are offering road routes to import raw materials and products of all kinds. Yes, you read correctly. The trucks already emulate the railway of the Silk Road and travel halfway around the world to avoid the global traffic jam of containers.
From the Chinese ports and the large industrial areas of Beijing or Shanghai, to Madrid by road. A total of 13,000 kilometers and 150 hours of truck driving that transport companies carry out in less than 20 days. Morarte Logistics has been one of the first companies to offer this service. The journey is made with a double driver. “We are offering our clients a service that greatly improves the transit time of a maritime container and lowers the costs of air transport. The new China-Spain road transport service can solve many of the current problems that companies are having with their imports from China”, they point out from Morarte Logistics. The company assures that right now it carries out about 50 loads per month on this route.
This traveling journey begins, however, outside of China. “Transportation in China by law must be done by a Chinese company, but once at the border with Kazakhstan, the merchandise is transshipped,” Morarte experts point out. “The warehouse we use is highly reliable. In addition, the trucks have an anti-theft system, with seals and are monitored 24 hours a day,” add the carriers.
For its part, DSV Silkway Express is another new intercontinental land bridge connecting China and Europe. Through the Silk Road, they provide a very competitive alternative to air, rail and sea transport. According to the company, unlike air, rail and sea transport, land transport offers greater flexibility. “We can pick up the merchandise exactly when the shipper has it ready, which means you don’t have to account for closures and cut-offs from scheduled times for ships, trains or planes,” he says. “The merchandise can be transported seven days a week with multiple collection and delivery possibilities. We even offer you the possibility of diverting merchandise during the journey,” he adds.
The Aragonese company Marcotran has also decided to offer its customers the transfer of parts from China and other points in Asia by road. The company made this decision “before the problems of receiving goods” due to the increase in transport costs, freight or bottlenecks in the ports. As they explain, today they do more than 20 loads a week.
faster than the train
A container takes 10 days by plane, 20 by truck, 30 days by train and more than 50 days by ship. This situation makes the truck the second fastest means of transport behind the plane. Of course, the costs of the truck are much lower than those of air transport.
According to Crane Worldwide Logistics, there are a number of business benefits to considering road and trucking solutions from China to Europe. Transportation and shipping is a challenging market currently due to a variety of reasons, including the ongoing Covid pandemic, container shortages, and port delays. The company believes that a door-to-door transportation solution could provide significant cost savings with extensive coverage in China and Europe.
Trucking has faster transit times than sea freight, and flexible shipping operations and frequent departures could also solve the supply chain challenges exporters currently face, including more predictable costs.
The route
The trucks leave the Chinese border in Kazakhstan. From there, they cross the entire country to the other end, where they enter Russian territory. For the next few days they drive on Russian territory, until they reach the border with Belarus.
From that country, they cross into Poland and already enter European territory. Germany France and, finally, Spain. Typical door-to-door transit times from China to Europe are 14-18 days by truck. Undoubtedly, the road is the preferred solution for many businessmen who are currently unable to bring merchandise with their usual suppliers.
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