Averitt Express said it is expanding its less-than-containerload service linking Asia with Memphis, Tenn., by adding calls in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in south China.

The expansion, which takes effect immediately, comes four months after Averitt began the program with door-to-door service between Shanghai and Memphis. Company executives said strong customer demand drove the decision to expand the service, called "Asia-Memphis Express."

Charlie McGee, Averitt's vice president of international development, said the service trims as many as 10 days off transit times between Asia and eastern U.S. destinations when compared to typical LCL service offerings. Asia-Memphis Express combines ocean service across the Pacific, rail service between southern California and the Memphis hub, and over-the-road trucking service for the "last mile" to the customer destination.

McGee said the carrier is looking to add three ports to the network early next year. At least one will be in South Korea and another likely in Japan, he said.

The expansion was announced at the joint annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., of the National Industrial Transportation League, the Transportation Intermediaries Association, and the Intermodal Association of North America.