UPS announced yesterday it has added a less-than-containerload (LCL) option for China-to-Europe rail shipments. The service is available from Zhengzhou to Hamburg.

The UPS Preferred portfolio combines air, rail, ocean and/or ground transportation to help companies balance supply chain speed and costs to meet customer needs.

UPS established a full-containerload (FCL) solution for China-to-Europe in June 2014. Full Container Load solutions are offered from Chengdu to Lodz, Poland, and from Zhengzhou to Hamburg, Germany.

UPS’s expansion of its rail services in China reflects the company’s commitment to infrastructure developments along the Silk Road Economic Belt. This expansion coincides with the transformation of China’s manufacturing industry from a low-cost and high-volume model to a more innovative, quality-focused and customer-centric approach. Trade between China and the European Union was valued at more than $600 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2020.

“Our UPS Preferred LCL service gives customers more transportation options to deliver on growing demand on one of the world’s largest and busiest trade lanes,” said Steve Flowers, president of UPS global freight forwarding. “Companies don’t have to choose between speed and cost and can realize both.”

According to UPS, shippers that have taken advantage of UPS’s China-to-Europe FCL rail service have saved up to 65 percent on costs versus air freight and time savings of nearly 40 percent compared to FCL ocean service. The rail options also are a more environmentally friendly alternative to air and ocean freight, consuming less energy and producing lower carbon emissions, the company noted.