UPS enhances rail services in China, Europe

United Parcel Service (UPS) on Monday announced it added a full container load rail service to its China-to-Europe freight transportation offerings.

UPS now offers the rail service from Chengdu, China, to Lodz, Poland, and from Zhengzhou, China, to Hamburg, Germany. The new service is up to 50 percent faster than ocean freight and up to 70 percent less costly than air freight, UPS officials said in a press release. Combining the rail movements with a truck network, UPS can provide service to customers throughout China and Europe, they said.

"Our customers are looking to UPS for ways to achieve their business objectives of reaching new markets and reducing costs," said Keith Andrey, UPS' vice president of ocean freight and multi-modal services. "We are excited to add our rail option for our customers in one of the world's largest freight lanes to complement our existing ocean and air freight and package capabilities."

The new rail service follows several enhancements UPS made to its multi-modal express services last year, including the expansion of UPS Preferred™ less-than-container-load ocean freight service from Asia to Mexico, and from Europe to the U.S. and Canada, and the introduction of UPS Worldwide Express Freight™ service to and from the United Arab Emirates.