DHL beefs up cold chain to US and Asia

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post group, says it is going to accelerate the supply chain for the north Norwegian seafood industry.

DHL has started shipping live crabs and seafood from the Lakselv Airport Banak in north Norway to Asia and Northern America.

On dedicated weekly flights, DHL transports the fresh seafood to the DHL terminal in Oslo, from where the freight is sent to South Korea and other destinations such as Japan or the United States.

From the origin, which is only 100km from the North Cape, to its destination in Asia the whole logistics is exactly timed, ensuring the shipments are delivered in perfect condition.

DHL said transporting the fresh seafood by plane allows it to cut the lead time by nearly 50 per cent. DHL is aiming to increase the frequency of deliveries from Oslo to Asia to three flights per week. From Oslo, almost 90 per cent of the fish is flown directly to Seoul in South Korea, while approximately 10 per cent is further directed to destinations in the US, Japan and China.