b'34American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comBumps in the road for automakers in 2022 RO/RO SHIPPING 2022Itlookslike2022isanotherbumpintheroad for global automakers as lockdowns, chip short-ages, inflation, rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and anti-globalization sentiments have combined to dampen automakers forecasts for the year. But now, nearly halfway through 2022, what about 2023?By George Lauriat, AJOTNot quite halfway throughproductionandsales.For anditlookslike2022isntexample, in an article on Auto-goingtobetheyearglobalmotive Research & Analysis, automakershopeditwouldS&PMarkFulthorpewrote be. There was lingering opti- oftheAprilforecast,Cur-mism from 2021, when vehiclerently the greatest risk to the sales in the US nearly crackedoutlook comes from the threat 15 million, up over the pan- of further or prolonged lock-demicplagued2020,Thedowns in mainland China and Lost Year for the Auto Indus- the contagion into the already trywhich included factorystressed supply chains. shutdownsanddiminished(BUMPScontinued onThe Georgia Ports Authority plans upgrades to the Port of Brunswick including a fourth berth at Colonels Island demand. (SeeAJOT July 27,page 36) Terminal, 85 additional acres for auto processing and 360,000 square feet of new warehousing.2020). The tally was still short oftheover17millionunits soldintheyearsleadingup to the pandemic and produc-tion was still having problems ramping up with supply chainRO-RO-ROdisruptions and the emerging microchip shortage. beBut there were reasons toYour Boats,optimistic. April of 2021 wasoneofthebestmonths for auto sales since the GreatTrucks & Recessionwithover1.53 million units sold or an annu-alizedclipofover18mil- Trains, Cars,lionunitsaccordingtoCox Automotivefigures.Other figures also buoyed the out-look. Global vehicle produc- Tractors, tionhadmadeacomeback. Accordingtostatisticsby theOIDA(OrganizationofCopters &MotorVehicleManufactur-ers)globalautomakerspro-duced 77.171 million vehiclesCranes!in COVID-19 2020 year and reboundedto80.15million units in 2021. There was also the widespread feeling among analysts that consumers pent up demand for vehicles cou-pled with normal manufac-turing would boost auto sales in 2022.2022 B umPs in ther oAdEarlyontherewasrea-sonable doubt whether 2022 would or could really be the year for a return to normal fortheglobalautomarket.Looking for the right carrier to handle all of Take the comments by Walle- your breakbulk, project and oversized cargo, nius Wilhelmsen COO Mikeheavy equipment or vehicles? ACL will Hynekamps on the Market Dynamics made in Januaryroro all of your cargo gently across the ocean2022,Carmakersexperi- and send them merrily on their way!encing continued part short-ages. This causes a continued productioncapacitycon-straint. disruption remains afactforfinishedvehicleA Grimaldi Group Companylogistics.AndHynekamps remarkscarryweight,as WalleniusWilhelmsenis theworldslargestRO/RO operatorwith130vessels, amountingtoabouta20% market share, and in FY 2021 carried 13.8 million vehicles. Thedisruptionsalready have forecasters revising their prognosticationsforvehicle'