ILA brings on weekly services from China

AFTER A decade in the fiercely competitive non-vessel owning common carrier (NVOCC) market, ILA has now established itself as one of the leading operators, according to MD Rod Taylor. “During this time,” he said, “we have seen a number of competitors come-and-go as the marketplace has reacted to trampolining exchange rates and shifts in trading partners.” In recent times, ILA has been taking advantage of the surge in exports from China – and now offers weekly services to SA from Shanghai, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as the historical service from Hong Kong. “Instead of going the traditional ‘gateway’ method in China, which can often be messy,” said Taylor, “we have opted for a direct shipment method from each of these ports. “This cuts transit times to the bare minimum, and avoids the major problem of a missed connection at the transhipment port – something which could be catastrophic in our business.” ILA is monitoring this major trade very closely, and intends to add other loading ports as soon as the need arises. At least another two are on the cards before the year-end, Taylor told FTW. In addition to China, the company also offers weekly services to Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg from Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Italy, the UK, India and the Netherlands. While ILA initially focused on imports, it has lately developed an export product, according to national sales and marketing manager, Raymond Cutts. “This,” he said, “has shown healthy growth, using hand-picked and like-minded agents around the world. “Through this, we have been able to offer the freight forwarding industry a reliable and competitive alternative.”