NIPPON EXPRESS - Japan's forwarding giant - has now become more visible in its SA relationship with Renfreight.
From November 1, a representative office managed by Masaaki Hayashida of Nippon Express has been established in Renfreight, Johannesburg.
This, said company spokesman, Hidetosha Hiroshima, is intended to upgrade Nippon's presence in the agency partnership with the SA forwarding concern.
The Japan-SA trade is very stable, he added. And, with the development of the SA economy, local companies are now importing increasing amounts from Japan and other parts of the Far East.
This has justified us setting-up a co-ordination office in Johannesburg to compile information on the trade between the two countries, and on cargo transiting SA from Japan on its way to other countries around the world. While Nippon Express is Renfreight's appointed agent only for Japan (the main global partners are Lep International), the local forwarding major also handles the technical throughput of Nippon's other cross-trade cargoes via SA.
The new office enhances this now long-standing agreement between the two companies, according to Barry Middleton, g.m.of Renfreight.
It is one of the big trades for this country, he said, and we act as co-forwarders on this route.
We see the elevated status of their local representation as a positive re-inforcement of our relationship. We can also expect it to lead to greater route development in the future. Another primary function for Hayashida will be to handle his company's air and ocean freight relationships with the Japanese trading houses in SA - which have expanded rapidly in numbers since the official end of sanctions - and other members of the Japanese business community dealing with SA.
This also holds promise for a greater Renfreight involvement in the Japanese trade, said Middleton.
