Dimerco’s new air + road service has saved up to 40 percent on freight costs for suppliers of auto components from Southern China to a common manufacturer in Mexico.

The freight forwarder was able to pull this off using scheduled flights, instead of more expensive charter flights, especially for China to US routes.

“Dimerco’s Southern China Team has been exploring challenges and potential solutions with local manufacturers in the automotive metal stamping and die industry,” the company said

“Fifteen of these manufacturers based in Southern China share a customer in Mexico, therefore Dimerco has been able to provide a cost-effective shared solution for multiple suppliers that delivers significant benefits to all customers,” it added.

The 76 shipments transported by Dimerco weighed a total of 81 tonnes, including equipment over 160 centimetres in height, which were unsuitable for passenger flights. The largest cargo were two checking fixtures that each weighed 750 kilos.

Dimerco worked alongside a strategic partner in Mexico, a local cross-border trucking company in the US and partner airlines. The team in China also coordinated manual inspections of the oversized cargo, which could not be screened by X-Ray, and oversaw the subsequent repacking of the equipment.

“We were able to take advantage of our negotiated block space agreement with partner airlines to reduce transit time during peak season and meet our customers’ tight time frame,” the forwarder noted.

Dimerco said the oversized shipment took just one week to travel from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) to the destination in Mexico.