Two of the world's biggest transportation companies today announced an expansion of their international services.

UPS Inc. said it has established a less-than-containerload (LCL) option for rail service from China to Europe. The service will operate from Zhengzhou to Hamburg and be added to UPS' full-containerload (FCL) service that was launched on the key China-to-Europe trade lane in June 2014.

Separately, DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has launched a transborder less-than-truckload (LTL) service between selected markets in the U.S. and Mexico. The service, called, "Trans Border Connect," will initially focus operations in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit in the U.S.; and in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Queretaro, and San Luis Potosi in Mexico. The service will touch all points in both countries, according to a company spokeswoman. However, Laredo will serve as the sole border crossing point.

The new UPS service will be integrated in the Atlanta-based company's "UPS Preferred" portfolio, which relies on all transport modes to deliver the best balance of cost and time-to-market, UPS said. Companies using UPS' FCL rail service have saved up to 65 percent over the cost of premium-priced airfreight and have reduced transit times by 40 percent compared to traditional FCL ocean services on the same routes, UPS said. The value of China and the European Union's trade growth was valued at more than $600 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2020, according to UPS, citing Chinese sources.

The DHL unit, which has operated in Mexico since 1969, will, with the new service, offer pricing on an all-in flat fee per pound, DHL said. Because DHL Global Forwarding will control the entire move, shippers will only deal with one provider and one IT point of contact and will receive one invoice, the company said.