New transhipment service slashes transit times

Cargas Del Atlántico, the Uruguayan member of the Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) Group freight forwarding and consolidation system, has launched a transhipment service via Montevideo to Paraguay, which it claims will drastically reduce transit times.

During Paraguay’s dry season, which runs from September to March, the normal means of transport into the landlocked country – by barge from Montevideo on the River Paraná – becomes unreliable because of decreased draughts, potentially resulting in lengthy delays and mounting demurrage costs.

The new service uses trucks to transfer cargo 1,400 km (870 miles) by road from Montevideo to the Paraguayan commercial centres of Asunción and Ciudad del Este. Catering for FCL and LCL traffic, the service cuts transit times from the Far East from up to four months to 40 days, and to as little as 25 days for European shippers, the company claims.