[ Distinctive Benefits for Intra-Asia Shippers ]

A distinctive feature of the new service, known as Intra-Asia Express
II(IAX2), will be APL’s ability to efficiently handle less-than-conta
inerload shipments(CFS) as well as full-containerload shipments, noted
Presti. “Our strong network of container-freight stations in Asia wi
ll be a boon both for manufacturers who ship smaller lots of specializ
ed parts southbound for rapid distribution to plants in Southeast Asia
, and for consignees of northbound shipments as well.”
Because APL also serves these same Southeast Asian markets in conjunct
ion with its long-haul trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe services, the eff
ect of the new services is to significantly boost the company’s servi
ce frequency and also ensure additional vessel capacity for intra-Asia
customers. The frequency of APL’s calls at the ports of Manila, Sura
baya and Jakarta will increase to three per week from two.
By providing exporters and importers with additional shipping frequenc
ies, APL’s new service will make possible faster collection against b
ills-of-lading. Intra-Asia customers will also have access to APL’s
large fleet of dry and refrigerated containers of diverse sizes; its a
ward-winning Internet-based booking and tracking capabilities; excelle
nt links to other points in APL’s global network; access to APL’s co
nsolidation subsidiary, American Consolidation Services; and highly co
mpetitive intra-Asia transit times.
For example, APL will offer a transit of eleven days from Jakarta to T
okyo, or four days from Keelung to Manila. Presti also noted that intr
a-Asia customers will be supported by specially trained, dedicated int
ra-Asia sales and customer-service personel.