National logistics specialist Northline will launch a logistics revolution for small and medium sized businesses in northern Australian by starting the first regular Less than Container Load (LCL) service to link north Asia with Darwin.

On May 20, 2010, a ship will leave Shanghai for Hong Kong and Darwin with Northline’s first LCL shipments. Previously, freight from north Asia to Darwin has arrived only on a Full Container Load (FCL) basis, making importing products either intermittent or unaffordable for many businesses.

Northline CEO Craige Whitton said the new LCL service from north Asia to Darwin would provide higher services levels and facilitate management of lower inventory levels. “There’s strong latent demand for an LCL service into northern Australian from the resource and housing construction industries,” he said.

“To date, the only way to get shipments from China to Darwin has been on a Full Container Load basis, so if a business in the NT required a spare part from Asia, the only options were to order it via east coast ports and road-freight it to Darwin or to have it air-freighted if it was urgent.

“With Darwin’s first regular LCL service from North Asia, we expect to benefit from strong demand by consolidating freight in Shanghai and Hong Kong from around the region, including northern China, Korea and Japan.”

Northline is an Australian logistics company that specialises in servicing remote locations throughout the country. The privately-owned business, which employs more than 400 people, provides freight, warehousing, international freight services and undertakes special projects throughout Australia.

Although Northline has used its national long-haul network to service northern Australia for more than 25 years, the company has invested heavily in the region as an area with major growth potential during the past few years. Initiatives have included building a new state-of-the-art distribution centre in Darwin, establishing a branch in Broome and launching international freight services via the Top End.

The Northline LCL service will provide deliveries to Darwin every second week, with volumes expected to ramp up rapidly as customers experience the benefits it offers. Backed by its long-haul freight capabilities, Northline will use the service to supply customers located from Broome to the Gulf of Carpentaria. As well as the resource and housing construction sectors, it expects the LCL service to attract demand  from all industries including tiling supply companies, white goods retailers and automotive parts businesses.

Northline’s LCL service includes a Track & Trace facility which lets customers follow the progress of their freight, from the time it is received and bar-coded into the system until it is delivered in Australia.

To learn more about Northline, visit www.northline.com.au

For more details on this service, contact Jessica Beaton (PR) at Jessica.beaton@northline.com.au or 08 8273 7311 or Peter Hopton (Service Delivery) at peter.hopton@northline.com.au or 08 8901 7035.

Northline PR for media assistance

For media assistance and photographs, call John Harris at Impress Media Australia on 08 8431 4000 or email jharris@impress.com.au.