European shortsea ro-ro specialist United European Car Carriers (UECC) has chosen Shanghai-based NYK Multimodal Transportation (NMTS) as its commercial agent in China.
With China expanding as a major automotive manufacturing hub and Chinese vehicle manufacturers looking to ramp up development of production plants in Europe too, UECC aims to boost eco-friendly shipments of Chinese-built vehicles across its European shortsea network.
“This key agreement with NMTS will enable UECC to capture valuable opportunities with Chinese exporters for shipments of vehicles – as well as high and heavy equipment – that are manufactured in Europe or being shipped from China to the continent for onwards feedering in Europe,” explained UECC’s head of high and heavy and network sales, Sven Jansen.
UECC made the selection after a thorough tender evaluation process, with NMTS chosen given its capabilities, market knowledge and alignment with UECC’s strategic aims. NMTS will promote UECC’s European service network along with handling shipment bookings and providing statistical reports and researching for new cargo opportunities.
“Having NMTS onboard gives us strategic positioning to secure cargo flows and strengthen relationships with key industry players in China, providing access to both major automotive and high and heavy OEMs, as well as project cargo players, deepsea lines and freight forwarders,” Jansen added.
He expects further growth in shipment volumes on UECC’s main North-South service spanning the Mediterranean and Northern Europe that is currently served by seven vessels covering 12 ports from Germany to Türkiye. On this route, UECC has recently expanded its eco-friendly fleet of PCTCs to 16 vessels.
