US finished vehicle and heavy equipment mover Ship Your Car Now (SYCN) has expanded its business with the opening of a new office in Boca Raton, Florida.
The company said the move was in response to increased demand for outbound services in the business-to-business (B2B) division, which includes customers such as new and used vehicle dealerships, corporate relocation services and fleet management companies.
"The growth at the company is exciting, and we are very pleased to be able to offer more auto transport services domestically and overseas," said the company’s CEO, Gavin Kesten. "Ship Your Car Now is becoming a strong brand in the market as we near 100,000 vehicles shipped.”
SYCN primarily uses a network of contracted carriers consisting of both large asset-based carriers and independent owner-operators, Kesten told Automotive Logistics.
“Currently SYCN has an established business relationship with over 1,000 carriers,” he confirmed. “While carrier rationalisation is always a priority, SYCN’s broad geographical scope requires a significant amount of carriers with specialised routes.”
The company said it was also growing its heavy haulage business, transporting equipment used in the construction, manufacturing and agricultural machinery sectors, as well as oil and energy equipment. “Our heavy haul also continues to grow as our specialised agents really understand the space," said Kesten. “The heavy haul sector is projected to account for 20% of SYCN’s revenue for 2017, up from 5% in prior years.”
Asked how the company was preparing for a potential softening of business with the levelling-off in new vehicle sales in the US, Kesten said changes in demand for new vehicles were historically offset by inverse changes in used vehicle sales. In any case, SYCN’s involvement in corporate and fleet relocation services meant the business was not wholly reliant on new and used vehicle sales, he added.
The company has made a strategic decision to refrain from working directly with vehicle manufacturers and company-wide B2B sales are up roughly 33% year-over-year, said Kesten.
As highlighted at the recent FVL Import Export summit in Baltimore, increasing inventories of new cars in the US as sales drop are beginning to affect capacity levels in the finished vehicle sector. “Already at historically high levels, new car sales incentives erode profit margins,” said Kesten. “Eroding profit margins for new car manufactures and dealerships will likely put pricing pressure on transportation services, which will lead to capacity issues.”
For more on the latest developments in the US car carrier sector, see the next edition of Finished Vehicle Logistics.
