Fujitsu Siemens opts for trans-Asia rail line over ocean freight

We posted back in January about the China-Europe rail link being jointly developed by China, Germany, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland which sought to establish a transcontinental rail line that would reduce the transit time from China to Germany from roughly 40 days by ocean to just 18 days by rail. Later in the same month test trains completed their journey successfully in about 15 days or so, and we noted at the time the concern from the air cargo industry over the potential loss of business if such a rail link could be proved viable. Today, over at American Shipper, they have a report on the successful shipment of 50 containers of Fujitsu Siemens product that completed the journey in 17 days:

“Shipping IT products by rail is more flexible and around one-third faster than by ocean freight,” said Heribert Göggerle, senior vice president supply operations at Fujitsu Siemens Computers. “And compared with air freight, we save around one quarter of the costs with a 95 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. This shows that rail is the best choice — both economically and ecologically.”
The shipment is an example of what DB Schenker and its partners, the Russian Railways RZD and the Chinese Railways, hope will blossom into a full-fledged alternative to ocean and air for European companies sourcing out of China, and for European companies hoping to distribute to growing Asian consumption markets.

Great news for European shippers looking for a faster transit from China without the expense of air freight. Bad news for ocean carriers already nervous about weakening Asia-Europe growth and bad news for air cargo carriers who have similarly relied on the lucrative Asia-Europe trade routes.