Moving China’s Trade Forward – Part of APL's 160-Year Legacy

Less than 20 years after the 1848 founding of APL’s predecessor, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the young venture was knocking on the door of one of the world’s future great economic powers – China. This year, APL celebrates its pioneering role on a continuing journey that would connect China to the world.

The Pacific Mail inaugurated the first regular transpacific liner service between Hong Kong and San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1867. Loaded with mail, newspapers, passengers and a huge amount of coal to fuel its journey, the 300-foot, 3,728-ton vessel "Colorado" set off from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan, and Hong Kong amid great fanfare.

When the "Colorado" arrived in Hong Kong on 30 January 1867, the newspapers aboard the ship were two weeks newer than those brought via the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The voyage was a great success, and the transpacific trade was born. Later in the year, the service was extended when the steamship "Costa Rica" began a connecting feeder route between Yokohama and Shanghai.

Today, China has become the world’s largest exporter – and APL continues as a major partner in facilitating its trade connections with the world.

Every week, Chinese manufacturers count on APL's 32 vessel services to deliver their exports to customers in all the world's major markets. Tapping into APL’s comprehensive global network of ocean and intermodal services, Chinese customers can effectively reach 25,000 locations in 140 countries on seven continents.

China has recently lifted its 100-millionth container, and APL is helping pave the way for the next 100 million lifts. Having recently ordered eight new 10,000-TEU ships that will be deployed between China and Europe, APL has also joined forces with China's SITC Group to build and operate a new container terminal in Qingdao.

APL's customer commitment is more than having a young fleet of vessels, state–of-the-art equipment and a global network of highly efficient container terminals. Each day, dedicated employees at APL's 44 offices in China work tirelessly to ensure all customer experiences are exceptional, which means that shipments arrive at destinations around the world reliably and in prime condition.

The next frontier in China’s containerized shipping has to be in intermodal transportation, because rising labor and land costs in coastal cities are leading manufacturers to look increasingly at China’s massive hinterland as a sourcing option.

China's railways currently handle a quarter of the world’s railroad traffic on just 6% of the total track, leading to extremely crowded conditions within the nation’s rail network. With proper government support, adequate infrastructural networks and efficiently managed operations, rail container transportation can deliver lower inland shipping costs than trucking and increase productivity without choking China’s roads and waterways.

China has long recognized that transportation infrastructure is an important driver of its future economic prosperity and social well-being. With a long history and current commitment to China, APL is determined to play a major role in contributing its own intermodal experience and expertise as China pursues its next 100 million container moves.