A container-laden “shuttle barge” departed from SIP Port on the morning of June 4, bound for the Taicang Port Area of Suzhou Port. The “shuttle barge” service was launched recently to help foreign trade enterprises in Suzhou reduce logistics cost and improve cargo transportation efficiency.

“Previously, containers were transported from/to Taicang by truck, which was expensive and prone to delays due to traffic jams,” said Tan Meifang, an executive at Samsung’s Suzhou branch.

“Now, empty containers are delivered to SIP by the shuttle barge, and then loaded containers are delivered from our factory to SIP Port and later to other ports along the inland waterways. The barges run following a fixed schedule every day, and we can enjoy preferential policies such as free shipping space fees, free terminal berthing fees, discounted loading and unloading rates, and priority berthing,” she said, adding that the company can save logistics cost by about 30% per TEU.

Moreover, the Suzhou Port Foreign Trade Task Force provides foreign trade enterprises with free container scheduling and storage services.

Source: Suzhou Daily, June 5, 2025