Maersk Line and Damco deliver a block train solution for Decathlon
On October 28, Maersk Line and Damco launched their first block train from China to Europe for the French sporting goods retailer Decathlon, Maersk said in its press release. On 16th November, the train arrived ahead of the schedule at Decathlon’s premises in Northern France, marking a milestone in cross-brand collaboration within Maersk for providing tailored transportation solutions for customers.
The train ran from Wuhan, China to Dourges, France and was fully booked by Decathlon, one of the world’s largest sporting goods retailers and a large ocean freight customer of Maersk Line and supply chain management customer of Damco.
The arrival of the block train in France saw the transit time for the 10 815-km journey reduced by exactly 20 days, compared to alternative ocean products. Carbon emissions were also reduced by an estimated 5.2 tons (compared with air freight of 79.5 tons), positioning the block train service as a more environmentally conscious alternative for the transportation of goods.
The block train is run by Damco’s rail freight team using Maersk Line containers and represents the next step in the ambition of Maersk’s Transport & Logistics division to expand its intermodal footprint and the range of services offered. The solution will provide customers with more flexibility via multimodal transport solutions, which also reduces the need for trucking rail containers on arrival in Europe.
Demand for the China-Europe rail services has increased significantly in recent years, with rapid growth in high-value cargo segments, such as electronics, machinery and fashion goods, which need quick delivery to their final markets. In addition to existing platforms of sea- and airfreight, the block train solution has the potential of becoming one of the major modes of delivering goods.
