A new Asian service from FedEx promises to help reduce inventory cycle time with faster overall transit times and fewer hassles than t raditional ocean service from Asia.

FedEx Freight, with FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Ground, now offers ocean and ground service from Asia to virtually all continental U.S. ZIP codes. Under the arrangement, FedEx Trade Networks prepares and containerizes shipments in Asia, manages the ocean portion of the service and handles customs clearance and document preparation, while FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground provide the inland distribution transportation once shipments are cleared at U.S. container freight stations in gateway cities."This service benefits shippers seeking a reliable, fast and simple way to ship freight from Asia to multiple destinations across the United States," says Douglas G. Duncan, president and CEO of FedEx Freight Corp.

Part of the appeal will be the availability of complete tracking information. From the moment shipments are labeled at the origin in Asia through delivery to their ultimate destination, immediate access to status information is available through a secure Web site. This information enhances shippers' ability to quote and maintain delivery dates for customers.

Applying shipping labels in Asia eliminates the need for labeling on the U.S. side of the move. The resulting benefits can be a reduction in warehouse labor, administrative costs and the risks of re-handling.

Shippers may also be able to cut multiple days from their overall transit times using the new service compared to traditional Asia-U.S. ocean/ground transit times. The freight may travel by full or less-than-container load shipments. Upon arrival in the United States, the consolidated shipments are deconsolidated at one of two gateways, which are strategically located to maximize the next-business-day and secondbusiness- day coverage provided by FedEx Freight and the transit times provided by FedEx Ground. This allows for rapid transit times because the shipments are delivered directly to multiple recipients as LTL (less-than-truckload) freight by FedEx Freight or as small package shipments by FedEx Ground.