All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's second-largest carrier, will set up an international cargo venture specialized in delivery to Asian countries with two Japanese forwarders to take advantage of rising trade.

The new company, to be established in April, will provide small-lot, express-delivery services, the three companies said in a joint release today. All Nippon will take a 34 percent stake in the venture, while Nippon Express Co. and Kintetsu World Express Inc. will each own 28 percent. The remaining 10 percent will be held by other forwarders, which weren't named.

Tokyo-based All Nippon, which lags behind rival Japan Airlines Corp. in international cargo, plans to more than double its freight fleet to 10 aircraft from four by the end of March 2010. Already the nation's biggest domestic handler of air cargo, All Nippon is adding planes and outsourcing some operations to expand capacity.

Nippon Express and Kintetsu World, the country's two biggest air forwarders, said in August they would cooperate on international shipments and were in talks with Japan Air. They compete with DHL Worldwide Express, FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc.

Global cargo traffic rose 4 percent in the first 10 months of this year, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents 250 carriers including All Nippon and Japan Air.

All Nippon fell 1.2 percent to 417 yen at the 3 p.m. close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nippon Express fell 0.2 percent to 581 yen, and Kintetsu World added 0.3 percent to 3,960 yen.

The venture's name and capitalization will be decided later, the companies said in the statement.