Auto helps fuel Lufthansa Detroit service
Lufthansa Cargo has begun a new service between Frankfurt, Germany and Detroit, Michigan in the US to meet increased demand from sectors including automotive.
“The new freighter connection supplements the daily flights operated by Lufthansa passenger aircraft, and offers our customers more capacity and greater flexibility,” said Achim Martinka, Lufthansa Cargo vice president, The Americas. “The automotive and pharmaceuticals industries, especially, are fuelling the growing demand for fast and reliable transports to and from Detroit.”
The first service, using a Lufthansa MD11 freight plane, left Germany on Monday with 90% automotive cargo, and from March, Lufthansa Cargo plans to expand its Detroit operations to two services per week.
Currently flights are leaving Frankfurt airport at 15.45 local time on Monday and arriving local time in Detroit at 18.50. The return flight will leave Detroit at 21.20 the same day with a stop over in New York and arrival back in Frankfurt at 14.30 the following day.
The latest service is the seventh US destination served by the cargo airline’s freighter network in the US. Along with the services operated by the Lufthansa passenger business, direct flights are now available to 17 airports in the country.
Gefco expands service for Chevrolet
GM-owned Chevrolet has selected French logistics provider Gefco to handle onward vehicle distribution to dealerships in a number of regions around the UK.
Gefco will pick up an annual 5,500 new Chevrolet vehicles from their recently upgraded facility at Royal Portbury Docks in Bristol, with future capacity increase subject to Chevrolet’s business demand. Delivery will be to approximately 33 dealers across the North of England, Scotland, South West England and Northern Ireland. The new contract includes fleet deliveries and distribution of North American produced vehicles such as Cadillac, Corvette and Camaro.
This new partnership builds on Gefco’s existing service for Chevrolet in Russia and Northern Portugal, as well as distribution of North American vehicles from Antwerp into France.
Mark Terry, Chevrolet UK managing director, said: “Gefco has proven expertise in offering Chevrolet flexible and timely logistics services throughout Europe, and we are very pleased to now be working with them in the UK as well. The company’s reputation for reliability and innovation means we can be confident that they have the ability to adapt and grow according to our business needs. We are looking forward to working together with their experienced automotive team to meet the operational requirements and vision of Chevrolet.”
Second ro-ro terminal opens at Shanghai port
Shanghai Haitong International Automotive Terminal has opened a new ro-ro terminal at the port of Shanghai to meet a growth in business that it reports saw the throughput of more than 1m vehicles last year, as well as a parts volume in excess of 300,000 TEUs.
The terminal operator, which is a joint venture between Shanghai International Port (Group), Anji Automotive Logistics, NYK, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Terminals Central and SAIC HK, handles and stores foreign and domestic vehicles as well as high and heavy cargo. It also offers PDI value-added services.
The Haitong terminal is the only terminal at Shanghai port that handles ro-ro traffic. It now has two berths, the first at 219m long with a depth of 14 metres, can accommodate fifth and sixth generation ro-ro vessels. It also covers 265,000 square metres and is able to store 7,000 vehicles. The addition of the new terminal means an additional 100,000 square metres and the provision of warehouses for vehicles and components.
WWL opens Moscow office
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has opened an office in Moscow to support its growing business in Russia. The company already has an office in St Petersburg, which it opened in 2009.
The new office, located close to Leningradskiy railway station on Kalanchevskaya street, will be headed by Boris Kaportsev, corporate account manager for rolling equipment customers, and Dmitri Vostrikov, corporate account manager for automotive customers.
“Automotive and rolling equipment importers, as well as foreign companies building up local production, have their main offices in Moscow and we want to be close in order to support their logistics needs in the best possible way,” said Søren Tousgaard Jensen, managing director for WWL Russia.
WWL said that Moscow is an important hub for several rail and trucking companies that support it in its aim of delivering factory to dealer solutions for customers operating in Russia.
The company offers ocean transport to and from St Petersburg and Ust-Luga, as well as ports in Finland and Estonia, based on transshipment solutions with short-sea carriers. It also offers connectivity to inland locations in Russia/CIS for both export and import of vehicles and rolling equipment.
The St. Petersburg office will continue to be the WWL head office in Russia.
Online exchange launched for transport providers
MOVEX.co, the online logistics marketplace service, has launched an online vehicle movements exchange, specifically designed for automotive transport logistics providers and trade professionals within the UK automotive industry.
The service has been set up for new and used car dealers, vehicle auction houses, automotive remarketing services and shipping companies. “Our aim is for them to be provided with multiple quotes from suitable transport providers without having to have lengthy phone calls and email conversations,” said Tom Menzie, co-founder of MOVEX. “We will cater for any size transport company, right down to the chap with a single vehicle transporter or a trade-plate driver.”
MOVEX.co incorporates features to keep track of all vehicle movements once a quote has been accepted that is helped with an instant alert system. Further key features include VRM (Vehicle Registration Mark) lookup to provide useful data to transport providers such as the make, model, colour, dimensions and weight of the vehicle to be moved.
“The VRM lookup feature saves users of our service a lot of time,” added other co-founder Daren Jones, “By just entering the vehicle registration plate number, details of the vehicle are attached to the quote request, giving transport providers information they need. Very useful for people who cannot transport vehicles above a certain size or weight.”
