Dachser was the company responsible for transporting the first complete train that BASF sent to China.
The convoy, consisting of 42 containers loaded with the company's chemical products, departed from the Ludwigshafen terminal in Germany, bound for the Chinese city of Xi'an.
Rail transport was completed in just 14 days, a solution that represented a saving of more than two weeks compared to shipping by sea. It should be noted that rail transport, via the New Silk Road, is a particularly attractive option for chemical companies whose production sites are located in rural areas of China, far from seaports.
The multinational company was also responsible for all logistical aspects of the process, including coordination with the RTSB operator, customs formalities, and the distribution of goods by land in China.
Furthermore, the KTL terminal in Ludwigshafen plays a key role in BASF's logistics concept, as it functions as a hub where the company prepares all European cargo and loads containers. Germany's largest land terminal is directly connected to BASF's main industrial plant, allowing up to 30 trains to be dispatched daily from this location to more than 20 European economic centers.
Scheduled weekly matches after the initial phase.
Given that the width of the railway track varies along the route, the 42 containers are transferred to new trains in the Polish village of Małaszewicze and also at the border between Kazakhstan and China.
The final destination of the cargo is the city of Xi'an, in central China. The 40-foot containers – with dimensions exceeding 12 meters in length and 2,9 meters in height – are mainly transporting granules, fuel additives, and catalysts.
Upon arrival at its destination, Dachser North China is responsible for customs formalities and the distribution of the goods by truck. The process, still in its initial phase, foresees an increase in shipments, which will become weekly, from Ludwigshafen to Xi'an.
“ Faster than sea freight, more economical than air freight, easy to schedule and secure: when it comes to meeting certain logistical requirements, rail transport to China along the New Silk Road stands out as an excellent alternative to air and sea freight, ” explains Thomas Krüger, Managing Director of Dachser Air & Sea Logistics EMEA. “ We are particularly pleased that demand for Dachser rail services is growing and that a leading global company like BASF trusts our logistics solutions ,” he adds.
Choose BASF
It should be noted that Dachser has been BASF's choice for the transport and storage of its chemical products in Europe for several decades. The multinational currently has two warehouses dedicated to hazardous materials – one in Hungary and the other in Romania – which meet the highest safety standards and whose performance has been evaluated according to the SQAS system.
“ The first rail transport to Xi'an has elevated our logistics partnership with BASF to a new level ,” says Michael Kriegel, Department Head Dachser Chem-Logistics. Dachser provides standardized logistics services and expertise in handling hazardous materials to a global network, offering tailored solutions for customers in the chemical industry.
Dachser ensures links between China and Portugal.
Dachser's customers in Portugal also have this rail service available. In this regard, it should be noted that the multinational company was responsible for transporting steel components and parts from China to Poland. In this case, it was a triangular operation, where the order came from a Portuguese company that wanted direct delivery from the supplier, located in China, to the end customer in Poland.
Dachser Portugal handled the entire operation, from booking and managing rail transport to customs formalities. The multinational was also responsible for the rail transport of a shipment of injection molds for the metalworking industry from China to Hamburg, where the cargo was deconsolidated and transported by truck to Portugal.
It should be added that, in the case of Portugal, the closest intercontinental rail link to our country is in Madrid, Spain. The route is called "Yixinou" and is over 13 kilometers long. The transit time between the Chinese city of Yiwu, south of Shanghai, and the terminal in Madrid is 21 days. From Portugal, Dachser provides connections to and from Madrid via road transport.
