Throughout the month of September this year, Valencia port authority is preparing an area on its north quay in preparation for Ford, which is to operate a own terminal area there.
At present, Ford cars are handled in the area but as part of a concession held by Valencia Terminal Europa (VTE), which was given an extension to August 31st to withdraw any vehicles still there along with all material and equipment.
The port authority has been working for some time to persuade Ford to bring all its logistics activities to the port. Previously, given a lack of space, some of its output had to be handled at the port of Sagunto. The new concession at VTE is for seven years, which also includes a possible three-year extension.
At a June meeting of the management committee, Ford was granted a licence to outsource its port operations. VTE, which belongs to the Grimaldi Group, has therefore been contracted yet again to undertake loading and discharge of finished vehicles, as well as looking after the warehousing of units within the port and the overall maintenance of vehicles passing through its facilities.
The Ford concession covers an area of 100,000 sq.m on Muelle Norte, which along with its existing operating area on Dique del Este gives it a total operating area of 150,000 sq.m. This effectively means that Valencia has become one of Ford’s main European hubs, shipping out finished vehicles manufactured at the nearby Almussafes plant, while at the same time handling imports for distribution across the Iberian Peninsula.
Of Ford’s total production at Almussafes in 2015, 95% was exported, equal to 370,500 units. Of that figure, 90% was exported by sea.
Significantly, both Toyota and Grimaldi have requested concessions of their own at the port of Sagunto, which is a remote harbour also administered by Valencia port authority. Prior to the recent economic crisis in Spain, Toyota originally operated in Sagunto and so has come full circle.
VTE has been granted an emergency concession for one year, involving a 100,00 sq.m area on the new south quay extension of the port, although hopes to eventually be granted a definitive concession there.
In 2015, Sagunto and Valencia combined generated finished vehicles traffic amounting to 689,426 units.
