The first shipment of consolidated less-than-container load (LCL) of export goods by ECU Worldwide and SIFAX Shipping Company Limited, is expected to commence on August 6, 2024.
The first shipment will move from Apapa Port to ECU Worldwide’s Antwerp hub via Hapag-Lloyd shipping line service.
FMA-Line Nigeria Limited, a 100 percent subsidiary of ECU Worldwide in Nigeria, has started accepting consignments from the exporters at the Ijora Bonded Terminal of SIFAX Group.
ECU Worldwide is a leader in LCL consolidation and will commence the new service line in partnership with SIFAX Shipping Company Limited, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, for the benefit of exporters especially the SMEs in Nigeria.
The launch of the LCL consolidation service is expected to help serve unmet demand for cost-effective transportation and exports of low-value products and commodities in the region such as agri-commodities, solid minerals, and oil-producing machinery for repair.
Nigeria is rich in crops such as cashew nuts, and groundnuts, and small and medium-scale businesses dealing in such agricultural commodities will now have a large large-scale and cost-effective global market access.
ECU Worldwide currently offers a track and trace facility for the exporters in Nigeria on ECU 360, its integrated digital tool for shipping. The company planned to launch services on the digital platform to help customers obtain freight quotes and book shipments online.
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“We are excited to enter into a consolidator partnership with SIFAX to provide dedicated LCL export services from Nigeria to various global destinations. There is a steady growth in demand for an efficient LCL consolidation service with global delivery competency in Nigeria, with our LCL export consolidation services and global network with over 300 offices across 180 countries with over 2400 direct trade lanes,” Rahul Rai, CEO of Middle East & Africa Region at ECU Worldwide, said.
He said the service will offer a cost-efficient solution to the exporters- primarily the small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria with reduced shipping time and wider access to global markets.
“We aim to get a first-mover advantage in this region,” he said.
Paul Liden, managing director of SIFAX Logistics Company Limited said the collaboration with ECU Worldwide will have a transformative impact on the foreign trade landscape in Nigeria.
“We are now well-positioned to offer broader global market access to growth-focused SMEs in the country. The LCL consolidation division at our Ijora Bonded Terminal is operating at full capacity and the association with ECU Worldwide offers hassle-free and seamless freight transportation to the businesses in this region,” he said.
The Antwerp hub of ECU Worldwide acts as a point of deconsolidation in the freight transit and from the hub, the consignments move to various destinations across the globe on the ECU network.
In addition, ECU Worldwide continues with its regular ongoing inbound LCL consignments which move with shipping services such as MSC, ONE Line, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM.
It has opened an office at Port Harcourt to cater to the oil and gas sector. it also plans to expand its business in the north including cities like Abuja and Kano to boost project business, diplomatic and UN cargo and trading business.
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