Global round up

Russian transport and logistics provider Fesco Transport is responding to growing demand for breakbulk, ro-ro and project cargo deliveries in the Far East of Russia with a new fortnightly service from the port of Tacoma on the US West Coast.

 

Fesco Russian Pacific Line is adding a fortnightly service between the ports of Tacoma and Vladivostok from November with a transit time of 14 days. The service will call at Everett and Tacoma in the US, and the Russian ports of Vladivostok, Korsakov, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and Magadan.

 

“We are introducing this improved service to meet our customers’ growing needs to the Russian Far East with more frequent sailings and faster service,” said Mike Evans, Fesco’s North American president. “We are the only provider offering breakbulk and ro-ro service out of the port of Tacoma and the port of Everett with a direct call in Vladivostok, which is Russia’s largest port city on the Pacific Ocean.”

 

The company said that the new service can handle ro-ro traffic up to 120 metric tons for a diverse range of traffic that include cars, trucks and trailers, and heavy industrial machinery. The top exports from the Pacific Northwest to the Russian Far East are vehicles and parts, mining machinery, and agricultural equipment, as well as oil and gas project cargoes.

 

Fesco Russian Pacific Line is a vessel operating common carrier offerings total logistics solutions to all Far Eastern regions including the Russian interior.

 

Fesco also recently signed a deal with BLG Logistics to develop automotive port handling operations at the port of St Petersburg in Russia as well as truck distribution within the Russian market.

 

Projected annual throughput volumes of 60,000 units are expected at the port in 2011.

 

The widespread floods affecting the automotive supply chain in Thailand have hit Toyota output at Japanese factories with knock on effects for exports to the US, including the Prius hybrid.

 

Toyota is reported to be cutting overtime at five Japanese assembly plants this week to prepare for a possible shortage of parts imported from Thailand. The company expects to lose 6,000 units of Japanese output.

 

Toyota’s Thai plant in Chachoengsao has also stopped production because of supply chain disruption in Ayutthaya and Pathumthani provinces, with 2-3 weeks of production expected . Estimated production losses are expected to be around 30,000-35,000 units for Toyota.

 

With supply chain disruption being the main reason for production shutdowns OEMs are considering increases in the stockpile of automotive parts and a revision of the just-in-time delivery strategy in an effort to ensure they have enough stock. Toyota announced a strategy of securing ‘safety stock’ as part of a five-year plan to overhaul the supply chain in the wake of the Japanese earthquake in March.

 

Vehicle exports from China could exceed 800,000 in 2011 according to the China Association for Automobile Manufacturers, a 15% increase over China’s best export year in 2008. Statistics show that the country exported 614,000 vehicles in the first nine months of the year. Figures rose year-on-year by over 50% in last month, though those figures were down exports for August.

 

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, total imports and exports from January to August were 31% higher than for the same period last year.

 

Vehicle exports for the first half of 2011 increased more than 50% on year to 376,100 units, including 203,000 passenger cars, up 74.3%, and 173,100 commercial vehicles up 29.3%.

 

Chery Auto maintained its position as China’s leading vehicle exporter, shipping 72,000 cars to foreign markets. It was followed by Great Wall Motor and JAC, which exported 34,000 and 25,000 units respectively.

 

Meanwhile, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that domestic passenger vehicle sales are unlikely to exceed 3% in 2011.

 

Domestic sales totalled 1.65m units in September, up 5.5% year-on-year and up more than 19% from August.

 

Volvo Trucks’ has recorded deliveries for September up 46% to more than 10,700 trucks, compared with the same month in 2010. Deliveries or Q3 were up 44% to 26,439 trucks said the company.

 

The truckmaker’s regional breakdown revealed that deliveries in Europe totalled more than 4,000 trucks in September, up 26% compared with the same month last year.

 

In Eastern Europe, deliveries in September rose as much as 73%. The development on the Russian market remained positive for the month, up 148% to nearly 400 trucks, compared with September 2010.

 

There was also high demand in South America, led by Brazil, where Volvo Trucks held on to the leading market position in the commercial vehicle segment during September. In total, deliveries in South America rose by 34% to 2,005 trucks in September, on last year’s monthly result. During the third quarter deliveries in South America were up 47% to 6,576 trucks.

 

In North America, deliveries in September rose by 151% to more than 2,700 vehicles compared with September 2010.

 

Around 600 workers at Comprehensive Logistics’ Lordstown facility in Ohio are reported to be disappointed with the latest four-year contract proposal that calls for a cut in sick days and a lower-than-anticipated bonus.

 

Comprehensive Logistics’ supplies parts to GM for the assembly of the Chevrolet Cruze. GM chose the company to manage global inbound logistics and sub-assembly processes for the 2011 Cruze when production began at the Lordstown facility in September 2010.

 

There are also concerns amongst workers about the proposed pay scale, which increases from an entry-level remuneration of $8 an hour to $13 an hour once an employee reaches two years of service.

 

Longtime employees, however, would see a 50-cent raise during the next four years.

 

It is reported that new employees outnumber longtime workers.