LX Pantos said on the 14th that it signed an agreement with Sinotrans to establish a joint venture, FutureLinks, to build a transshipment network based on e-commerce cargo originating in China.
Sinotrans is a leading Chinese logistics company that recorded 4.87 million TEU (1 TEU = one 20-ft container) in ocean cargo volume as of last year. It also provides inland transport and air transport services in China.
They decided to establish a joint venture to target the rapidly growing demand for sea-air multimodal transport of e-commerce cargo from China. The joint venture's equity will be 60% held by LX Pantos and 40% by Sinotrans.
Centering on the Incheon–Weihai (Shandong province) route, the joint venture plans to build a transshipment network that will transport e-commerce cargo departing from various parts of China by sea to Korean ports and then ship it by air worldwide via Incheon International Airport.
Incheon Airport is emerging as a major transshipment hub as the e-commerce cargo demand, fueled by a surge in China's air logistics infrastructure, outpaces capacity. Incheon Airport's multimodal cargo volume last year was 118,000 tons (t), up about 20% from the previous year.
The signing ceremony for the joint venture establishment agreement was held on the 13th at the Sinotrans headquarters in Beijing, China. The event was attended by LX Pantos CEO Lee Yong-ho and Sinotrans Chair Zhang Yi, along with executives from both companies.
LX Pantos CEO Lee Yong-ho said, "This cooperation is a new growth model to secure a lead in the Northeast Asia logistics transshipment market," adding, "We will reliably secure the surging volume of e-commerce cargo from China and help strengthen the competitiveness of Korea's logistics industry."
Sinotrans Chair Zhang Yi said, "LX Pantos is Korea's leading logistics company with competitiveness in air logistics and an extensive global network," adding, "Through the two companies' cooperation, we will create new synergy in the Korea–China multimodal transport market."