Another freight shipping route links Taizhou with Japan

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-03-14

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A container vessel loaded with 12,599 metric tons of goods departs from Damaiyu port, a county-level city in Taizhou, for Japan on March 13. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]

A container vessel loaded with 12,599 metric tons of goods departed from Damaiyu port, a county-level city in Taizhou, for Japan on March 13.

The ship's departure marks the opening of the second direct shipping route from Taizhou to Japan, a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member state. Its opening will be a big boon for companies in Taizhou, whose exports to Japan accounted for more than 20 percent of its total trade volume of 55 billion yuan ($8 billion) with RCEP member countries in 2022, according to Taizhou Customs.

Xu Zhonghua, vice general manager of Zhejiang Judong Co Ltd, pointed out that the new route will boost cooperation between Taizhou and Japan's industrial chains.

Taizhou is a city with zero mineral resources, and the recycled metal, which is partly imported from Japan, underpins the city's status as a national manufacturing hub for automobiles and motorcycle parts and water pump, according to Xu.

The new Taizhou-Japan route, which will operate biweekly, will start from Damaiyu port and pass by Ningbo, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo before ending in Yokohama.

According to He Guohua, general manager of Taizhou Dayang Logistics Co Ltd, the route will help the company save 1 to 2 days in travel time and about 2,000 yuan in export fees. The goods exported from Taizhou were previously transported by rail or trucks to Ningbo before being shipped to Japan.

In addition, the returning voyage from Japan to Damaiyu will take 5 days less than for imports, He added.