CargoPoint is expanding its multimodal China-Europe logistics network through Tashkent and Almaty, using a combination of road and air freight to provide shippers with an alternative to increasingly disrupted maritime, rail and direct-air routes.
Persistent geopolitical disruption across Eurasia is prompting European supply chain managers and freight forwarders to reassess how cargo moves from China to Europe. Against this backdrop, CargoPoint is positioning Central Asia as an increasingly important bridge between Asian manufacturing centres and European markets.
The freight forwarder’s Truck+Air model combines road transport from China with onward air freight from Central Asian gateways, creating a multimodal option between slower ocean or full-land transportation and the higher cost of end-to-end air freight.
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CargoPoint operates the service through Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, giving shippers two gateways through which China-origin cargo can be consolidated, cleared and transferred to air services bound for international markets.
Tashkent and Almaty form a dual-gateway network
CargoPoint’s established Tashkent operation forms the core of its China-Europe Truck+Air network, while the company’s more recent expansion into Almaty provides a second gateway closer to China’s western border.
Under the Almaty model, cargo from Chinese manufacturing and export centres is consolidated before being transported by road through the Khorgos border crossing into Kazakhstan. Shipments are then processed through Almaty and connected to onward air freight services. CargoPoint currently markets multimodal connections from Almaty to major European gateways including Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Liège and Paris.
The company says its Almaty operation gives it greater local control over cross-border shipments and complements its existing Tashkent network.
CargoPoint recently opened an office in Almaty as part of the expansion, strengthening its operational presence in Kazakhstan and adding local support for China-Europe shipments moving through the country.
The company describes the two gateways as complementary rather than identical, with routing decisions depending on cargo origin, customs requirements and destination.
A middle ground between sea and air
CargoPoint’s Truck+Air service is designed around the cost and transit-time gap between traditional modes.
Cargo moves by road across the China-Central Asia section before transferring to air freight for the longer international leg. This allows shippers to avoid using premium air freight for the entire journey while maintaining a faster connection than conventional sea or full-land transportation.
The company markets the product as a form of deferred air freight, particularly for commercial cargo, e-commerce shipments, fashion, electronics, machinery components and other time-sensitive goods.
CargoPoint says its Tashkent-based solution can provide a predictable alternative for companies seeking to balance freight costs with delivery requirements, while its Almaty route adds another option for cargo originating in western and southern China.
Central Asia gains importance as routes are reassessed
The development comes as China-Europe supply chains continue to contend with disruption across multiple transport corridors.
Red Sea security concerns have altered maritime schedules and increased transit times on some Asia-Europe services, while restrictions associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict have affected traditional northern Eurasian transport options.
For European importers, the result is a greater emphasis on route diversification and the ability to shift between transport modes when capacity, cost or geopolitical conditions change.
CargoPoint argues that Central Asia can play a more permanent role in this strategy rather than serving solely as an emergency alternative.
Tashkent provides a road-to-air connection between China and European markets, while Almaty offers a gateway positioned closer to the Chinese-Kazakh border. Together, the two routes give shippers additional flexibility when designing China-Europe supply chains.
Turkish Cargo partnership expands the model
CargoPoint has also developed its multimodal capabilities through cooperation with Turkish Cargo, particularly in relation to Road Feeder Services.
The company says its collaboration with Turkish Cargo allows cargo collected in China to move by road or through cross-border RFS networks to Tashkent before connecting with Turkish Cargo’s international air network.
CargoPoint currently describes itself as an authorised Cargo Sales Agent for Turkish Cargo in Uzbekistan, offering collection from locations in China, cross-border RFS or bonded trucking to Tashkent, and onward transportation to European destinations on Turkish Cargo services.
The partnership builds on CargoPoint’s broader RFS and air cargo activities in Central Asia, where the company has worked to connect its regional trucking network with international airline capacity.
From alternative route to supply chain strategy
CargoPoint’s multimodal approach reflects a wider shift in freight forwarding, where resilience is increasingly being considered alongside price and transit time when selecting international routes.
Rather than relying exclusively on a single transport mode, the Truck+Air model divides the journey according to the strengths of each mode: road transport provides flexibility for the China-Central Asia segment, while air freight provides speed for the international leg.
The company says this approach can help European businesses reduce exposure to individual corridors while maintaining access to Asian manufacturing supply chains.
CargoPoint’s existing Tashkent operation and its new Almaty gateway therefore represent a broader strategy to build alternative China-Europe trade lanes through Central Asia.
As geopolitical uncertainty continues to influence global freight flows, the development of these multimodal corridors could give freight forwarders and shippers another tool for managing capacity, cost and transit-time risks across one of the world’s most important trade lanes.
