ContainersEurope

Lidl debuts Tailwind Shipping Lines

Lidl, the giant European budget supermarket chain, has registered a new container shipping company with plans to take a sizeable chunk of its transport needs from existing carriers.

Tailwind Shipping Lines is the name of Lidl’s new company, according to registration information at the European Trademark Office.

“The goal is to be able to manage the increased volume of different production facilities more flexibly in the long term,” Wolf Tiedemann, who heads up logistics operations for the German retailer, told German logistics title VerkehrsRundschau.

Lidl operates around 11,200 stores and is active in 32 countries, recently entering the US market.

During the global supply chain crunch experienced during the pandemic a host of well known retail names including Ikea, Walmart and Home Depot opted to charter in their own ships.

Chinese furniture manufacturer Loctek Ergonomic went a step further this January, ordering a 1,800 teu boxship new build from Huanghai Shipbuilding for a swift delivery in the first quarter of next year.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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