[251211.EN.BIZ] Northeast Asian Inter-port Logistics IT Service Network Launched

NORTHEAST Asia Logistics Information Service Network (NEAL-NET), jointly built by China, Japan and Korea, has been launched involving three ports, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Tokyo-Yokohama and Busan, which will start sharing container shipping service information via the network, Xinhua reports.

NEAL-NET is an international and non-profit logistics information sharing agreed by the transport and logistics ministries of the three countries. It was founded in early 2010.

China Ministry of Transport IT planner Dai Dongchang said the network is a crucial step for logistics cooperation among the three countries. Being a portal for the sharing of logistics information, the network will facilitate trade between the three countries and enhance regional competitiveness.

The network enables direct sharing of logistics information, which improves the accuracy and timeliness of the information and lowers cost. Estimation shows that CNY30 billion (US$4.71 billion) can be cut down from China's logistics cost and KRW40 billion (US$34.7 million) for Korea every year.

According to Ju Chengzhi, the director of Department of International Cooperation, China Ministry of Transport, logistics information is exchanged via China's LOGINK system, Japan's COLINES system and Korea's SP-IDC system.

China's Ningbo-Zhoushan port, Japan's Tokyo-Yokohama port, Korea's Busan port, as well as state-owned companies like Coscon and Cosco Logistics have become the first to attend the pilot project.

The project also includes setting up information sharing standards and codes, which is helpful for China to set up its own national standards and even beneficial for the three countries to become the first to set up world standards.

The project will later be expanded to cover more ports and logistics operators, and its scope will also be enlarged from ocean shipping to air and railway transportation. It also tried to connect with the logistics information network in Europe.

China, Japan and Korea take up 17 per cent of the world's economic aggregate and 70 per cent of Asia's. The three countries have a total trade value of US$5 trillion, representing 14 per cent of the world's total. Container shipping between the three countries amounted to about eight million TEU each year, which accounts for over 30 per cent of the world's total.

Source : HKSG.