Lianyungang Port Launches First Multimodal Transport “Single Document” Shipment

From: Lianyungang Daily Updated: 2025-06-05 03:00

Recently, 14 TEUs of wheat flour dispatched from Zhengzhou Putian Railway Station arrived at Lianyungang Port via rail and were subsequently transshipped by sea to Shantou, Guangdong. This marked the debut of the “Zhengzhou-Lianyungang-Shantou” multimodal transport “single document” product jointly launched by Lianyungang Port Holding Group, Zhengzhou Railway, and other partners. Utilizing a unified electronic bill of lading for sea and rail transport, the service streamlines processes through “single commission, single quotation, single documentation, and single settlement”, reducing corporate logistics costs by 30% and customs clearance time by 40%.

On June 2, a batch of wheat flour containers arrived at Lianyungang Port by rail. Despite the modest cargo volume, the shipment holds significant strategic value. “We collaborated with Zhengzhou Railway Logistics Center, China Railway Container Zhengzhou Branch, and Antong Shipping to co-develop this ‘single document’ intermodal product,” explained Yi Hui, head of Kaida Container Logistics, a subsidiary of Lianyungang Port. “By optimizing transport routes and calculating freight costs, we tailored a ‘Zhengzhou-Lianyungang-Shantou’ solution for the client.” With support from China Railway International Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd., the shipment successfully integrated data from the sea freight booking system with China Railway’s 95306 platform, enabling seamless multimodal transport operations and advancing Lianyungang Port’s sea-rail intermodal platform development.

In recent years, enterprises have increasingly demanded efficient, convenient, and cost-effective logistics solutions amid rising transportation needs. However, traditional multimodal transport has long struggled with fragmented governance, where disparate rules for sea, rail, and road transport, along with complex documentation, forced businesses to engage with multiple carriers. Cross-border shipments often incurred high “hidden costs” due to poor coordination. To address these inefficiencies, Lianyungang Port pioneered the “single document” model, integrating responsibilities, standards, and digital platforms to transform transport operations from a “physical overlay” to a “chemical integration”.

“We no longer need to separately negotiate sea and rail contracts, saving over 15% of total transport time on documentation processing,” said Mr. Li, a Zhengzhou-based client. The “single document” service ensures end-to-end “door-to-door” delivery, minimizing cargo handling and waiting times during transshipment and providing customers with a more streamlined logistics experience.

Beyond efficiency gains, the “single document” initiative is reshaping regional economic geography. By leveraging logistics to drive industries and trade to aggregate resources, Lianyungang Port is emerging as a critical node in global supply chains. Since 2023, China-Europe Railway Express “single document” services have boosted the city’s foreign trade dependency by an average of 10 percentage points. In December 2023, Lianyungang Port’s Multimodal Transport “Single Document” Information Integration Platform was selected as one of China’s first 15 national pilot projects under the “Three Ones” (One Ticket, One Document, One Container) initiative for comprehensive transport services.

Looking ahead, Lianyungang Port aims to integrate the “single document” model with smart port and digital twin technologies, building a “door-to-door” intelligent logistics ecosystem. This reform initiative, driven by institutional innovation and digital transformation, seeks to align domestic and international circulation networks, injecting robust momentum into China’s “dual circulation” development strategy.