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Logistics to reduce the cost of development and increase efficiency

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• 2024-08-23

Effectively reducing the logistics cost of the whole society is of great significance for building an efficient and smooth circulation system, unblocking the circulation of the national economy, and better supporting the modern industrial system. In recent years, what progress has been made in China's logistics cost reduction and efficiency, and how to effectively reduce the logistics cost of the whole society? The reporter conducted an interview.

Transport "one box system", service "one single system", multimodal transport to help reduce costs and increase efficiency

On April 16, accompanied by a meloical whistle, an international sea-rail train full of solar photovoltaic module products set off from the railway logistics base of Hefei, Anhui Province, to the Beilun port area of Zhoushan Port, Ningbo, Zhejiang. After the port, the products will be exported to Europe on container ships.

"Compared with traditional modes of transport, sea-rail combined transport can reduce the total cost of freight transport by 30 percent." Zhu Enjun, head of the sea-rail intermodal transport of the business department of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., LTD., said that behind the cost reduction and efficiency increase of logistics is the innovative exploration of "one box system" and "one single system" of multimodal transport.

Transport "one box system". "In the past, goods were mainly transported from the factory to the port by road. After docking, they were then transported to the port by road. There were many loading and unloading links and transportation efficiency was low." Zhu Enjun introduced that today, the beginning and end of the railway special line into the port, the vehicle and ship directly, the container does not land, reducing the cumbersome docking links, and the transportation time has been greatly improved.

Service "one single system". "In the past, cargo owners needed to connect with road, rail and sea, which was complicated and time-consuming." Zhu Enjun said that under the "single system" mode, the cargo owner can complete the whole transportation as long as the docking railway side, and achieve "one consignment, one billing, one document, and one payment." Up to now, Paihe Railway Station has saved more than 1.5 million yuan for Hefei and surrounding enterprises through the "one box system" and "one single system" transportation mode.

In recent years, the pace of Ningbo Zhoushan Port sea-rail combined transport has been accelerating: the total number of lines has exceeded 100, radiating 16 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central Government), and the average annual growth of business volume in the past 14 years is 63.5%. Last year, the cumulative container volume exceeded 1.65 million TEU, setting a new historical record.

As an important breakthrough to improve the quality and efficiency of transport services, the development of multimodal transport is closely related to the reduction of logistics costs. It is estimated that every 1 percentage point increase in the proportion of China's multimodal transport in the whole society's freight volume can reduce the total logistics cost by about 0.9 percentage points, and the social logistics cost can be saved up to 100 billion yuan. Since 2016, the combined volume of hot metal in China has increased from 2.74 million TEU to 11.7 million TEU, and the proportion of railway arrivals in major port areas in the country has increased from 40% to 82%. Last year, China's container hot metal intermodal transport exceeded 15% year-on-year, the proportion of multimodal transport steadily increased, the average distance of cargo transport, transport costs have fallen slightly.

The network is more perfect, the structure is more optimized, and the logistics cost level is steadily declining

In recent years, with the orderly promotion of logistics cost reduction and efficiency, the level of social logistics cost has steadily declined. The person in charge of the transport service Department of the Ministry of Transport briefed reporters on the overall situation

The network is better. At present, the total length of China's comprehensive transportation network has exceeded 6 million kilometers, and the length of newly rebuilt rural roads has exceeded 160,000 kilometers. 125 national logistics hubs, 66 backbone cold chain logistics bases and 25 comprehensive freight hubs have formed chain-strengthening cities. The logistics operation system of "channel + hub + network" has begun to take shape, and the "major arteries" and "microcirculation" have become more smooth.

More optimized structure. Through the continuous promotion of bulk goods and medium and long-distance transport "transit rail" and "transit water", the proportion of railway and water transport in the freight turnover of the whole society has gradually increased. "The cost of road transportation in China is 0.2 to 0.4 yuan/ton kilometer, and the cost of railway transportation is about 0.15 yuan/ton kilometer. Every 1 percentage point increase in rail freight volume can reduce logistics costs by 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points." Li Yanlin, deputy director of the modern Logistics Research Center of the Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, told reporters that China's railway freight volume increased from 3.36 billion tons in 2015 to 5.01 billion tons in 2023, "Accelerate the promotion of 'rail' and 'water', give full play to the combined advantages of various modes of transport, will continue to provide space for logistics cost reduction and efficiency."

Service quality and efficiency have been continuously improved. In recent years, the Ministry of Transport and multiple departments to carry out comprehensive transport services "one vote system, one single system, one box system" special pilot transport power, has created a total of 116 multimodal transport demonstration projects.

Relevant data show that in 2023, the ratio of China's total social logistics costs to gross domestic product (GDP) was 14.4%, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. "The decline in logistics costs per unit of GDP reflects the continuous improvement of the efficiency of China's economic operation." However, compared with the level of some developed countries, the ratio still has room to fall, Li said.

The relevant person in charge of the transport service Department of the Ministry of Transport said that the low cost of a single link and the high cost of the whole chain are the most prominent contradictions in the current logistics operation, and the low efficiency of logistics resource allocation and the low efficiency of circulation cycle are the key factors affecting the reduction of logistics costs.

"To reduce logistics costs, we must not only focus on the transportation, warehousing, management and other links of the logistics industry itself, but also make efforts in product structure, industrial organization, factor allocation and so on." By optimizing the transport structure and deepening the reform of the comprehensive transport system, we will accelerate the formation of a unified, efficient and orderly competitive logistics market." Li Yanlin said.

Open up the blocking point, innovate the model, optimize the environment, and continue to tap the potential of logistics cost reduction space

Logistics is connected to production and consumption, and is an important part of the modern industrial system. "Reducing logistics costs can directly reduce the total cost of enterprises and help enterprises improve profit margins and product competitiveness." Improved logistics efficiency can also reduce the time from production to consumption and improve supply chain efficiency." He Xingdong, associate researcher of the Comprehensive Transport Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that with the rapid development of e-commerce and cross-border trade, China's freight demand will continue to increase, "we must accelerate the construction of a modern logistics system, and constantly promote the cost reduction and efficiency of logistics."

The person in charge of the transportation service Department of the Ministry of Transport said that in the short term, the demand for logistics in the manufacturing industry will continue to maintain rapid growth, and the cost reduction work of logistics is also facing many challenges such as the rising cost of labor, land and other factors, and the relatively limited space for cost reduction in some areas. In the long run, with the continuous improvement of logistics infrastructure and the accelerated application of new technologies and new models, China's logistics costs are expected to gradually reduce to a more reasonable level.

How to continue to tap the potential logistics cost reduction space, better serve the development of the real economy?

Break through the blocked points and strengthen the efficient connection of all links. "From the statistical data, accelerating the adjustment of transportation structure has a certain role in improving logistics efficiency, especially in medium and long distance transportation, railway and water transportation can greatly reduce transportation costs." The relevant person in charge of the China Logistics Information Center said that it is necessary to speed up the development of multimodal transport "one single system" and "one box system", and strive to improve the comprehensive service capacity of railway and water transport, and promote the cost reduction and efficiency of systematic logistics.

Innovate the model, release the new potential of logistics cost reduction. "In recent years, scientific and technological innovation achievements in the field of logistics have been emerging, especially in intelligent manufacturing, unmanned technology, enterprise digital transformation and smart supply chain, which help optimize service mode and improve logistics efficiency." Li Yanlin believes that the development of new logistics models combined with platform economy, unmanned driving and other technologies should be vigorously encouraged, and the introduction and improvement of relevant policies and measures should be accelerated to guide the standardized development of relevant industries.

Optimize the environment and effectively reduce institutional costs. "At present, there are still problems in the development of logistics in China, such as insufficient integration of logistics and industrial chain supply chain, high storage and management operation costs, inconsistent rules of the logistics market, and high cost of the system." The relevant person in charge of the transport service Department of the Ministry of Transport said that the next step will be to cancel and adjust unreasonable fines, target to reduce coastal port pilotage fees, reduce cargo port fees and truck tolls by stages, and promote logistics to reduce costs and improve quality and efficiency in a full range and the whole chain.

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