Through bill helps mitigate trade barriers

As cross-border trade increases
across the African continent,
Maersk Lines hopes to grow
its own cross-border
business by growing
its through bill of
lading options on
both road and rail.
“We have seen
higher growth
volumes, through
the respective
gateway ports,
to Mali, Chad,
Burkino Faso,
Niger, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Uganda
and Rwanda,” said
Bruce Marshall,
Maersk Line country manager:
hinterland territories.
Marshall told FTW that
Maersk Lines’ through
bill of lading
was a good
example of how
some of the cross-border trade
barriers, as well as risk and
liabilities, could be mitigated.
“With this product offering, as
long as documents are received
on time, Maersk Line can
arrange cargo movement into
the southern
Africa
hinterland
countries
without the
delay and
subsequent
penalty
costs
for the
consignee/
cargo
owner to
receive their goods at the
final destination,” he said.
According to Marshall, while
Maersk’s focus has been on
growing the through bill of
lading within the southern
African region through
ports such as Dar es Salaam,
Beira, Durban and Walvis
Bay, it “continually seeks”
opportunities to add cargo
receipt and delivery points on
the continent.
“This allows us to offer
increased f lexibility to our
clients while also simplifying
the supply chain and reducing
unnecessary costs.” He said
Maersk Line worked with
various vendors – from ports
to terminals through
to rail and road
operators – to
cut down
on supply
chain costs
and drive
efficiency.
INSERT & CAPTION
The through bill of lading
is a good example of
how cross-border trade
barriers can be mitigated.
– Bruce Marshall