A trial run was made for an intermodal train carrying New Zealand timber. The cross-border trip from the Lanshan Port area of Rizhao Port, led by Shandong Port Group, to Shatuji in Heze was a first for Rizhao Port.

Previously, timber processing companies in Heze, one of the largest timber processing bases in China, relied heavily on road transportation to procure timber from Rizhao Port. This method not only involved long distances and time-consuming transport but also limited the volume of each shipment, impacting customers' operational efficiency and cost control.

To fulfill customers' demands, Rizhao Port has collaborated with relevant parties and actively expanded the intermodal train service timber transport mode. It has sent timber to Heze for the first time in the form of block trains and provided one-stop service from the loading port to the unloading port and then to the processing area.

Logs from New Zealand are transferred onto trains headed to Heze. [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]

Rizhao Port has now normalized the "New Zealand-Rizhao Port-Wuwei International Land Port" cross-border intermodal train services for timber transport and opened the "New Zealand-Rizhao Port-Heze processing park" block train. This will further expand the network of intermodal train services for timber transport and represents an important step for Rizhao Port in optimizing the layout of the timber supply chain and making logistics service more efficient.