b'14American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comACL AJOT_SailSchedule_2020_ACL2/27/209:33 AMPage 1Port of Huenemes Decas seesONE SHIP24% auto resurgence in 2023 ONE SHIPBy Stas Margaronis, AJOT C ontainers, RORO, RORO, Br, Breakbulk Ceakbulk CarargogoContainersAfteradeclineinautoback upwards of 50%.shipmentsduringthepan-demic, there has been a 24%h igh andh eaVyC argoesincrease in Port of HuenemeThe high and heavy equip-auto shipments during 2023,mentshipmentshaverisen accordingtoKristinDecas,sharply: In a good week prior Executive Director. tothepandemic,wemight In an interview with AJOTmove40piecesofhighand at the Agriculture Transporta- heavy. Now we can move as tion Coalition (AgTC) confer- much as 500-600 pieces, and ence in Tacoma, Washington,wearestillseeingthattype Decasremarked,Weareof volume. So, our high andRORO Customer Serviceseeingsomerealrecalibra- heavybusinessiscontinuingA SERVICE AL1 SERVICE AL2 SERVICE 877-918-7676tion in the auto market. . Weto be really strong, which isFROM NEW YORK Cuto Friday Cuto Thursday Cuto Monday Export Customer ServiceLOLO RORO LOLO LOLO saw a slip during the pan- kind of factoring into some ofTO Transit Time Transit Time Transit Time Transit Time 800-225-1235demicwiththe(declinein)those growth numbers. FortyANTWERP 1620 18Export Documentation 888-802-0401productionofthesemicon- pieces that we saw in the pastDUBLIN 12Import Customer Serviceductorchipsreallyimpact- are now 500 pieces. ThatsBELFAST 13888-802-0403GTEBORG 21 ingthatindustry.Wesawathingslikeyachts,tractors,HAMBURG 13 17 15 22 Logisticsdecline (of) about 12% in turbines,heavythingsthatLE HAVRE17 866-821-7449fiscalyear2022.Thisyear,cant fit in containers, a lot ofLIVERPOOL 9 13 Credit & Collectionsyoure seeing real recovery inbig electrical units for utilityLONDON GATEWAY20 19 888-225-7747theautomotivesectorOurcompanies, things like that. ROTTERDAM11 20businessisup24%inauto-motiveoverFY 22. AndC ontainers (STAGEcontinued fromWhile acknowledging thattion. Likely, he said, theyll it is up 5% from our best yearThe container business waspage 12) transshipmentstotheU.S.overcorrect. However, reces-everin2019.So,wererunning really strong duringCO2emissionsinproduc- viaMexicowereaprob- sions brought on by monetary going (to) land about 360,000thepandemicandbecausethetion and, more importantly,lem,MaximoVedoya,Ter- policy errors tend to be short cars this year. Port of Hueneme is a quasi- ashesaid,aboutcreatinganiums CEO, responded thatindurationandlimitedin operatingport:Wekindoflevel-playing field and otherit was not an exceptionallyseverity.Inotherwords,it pickedthecustomerswhopieces of legislation put forthacuteproblemandonethatwould be a condition of high we did business with to helptoCongresstoprotecttheissharedbetweenthethreeinflation amid low unemploy-offset some of the challengessteelindustry.Mrvanscon- USMCA countries.ment, a case of soft landing. withcongestion.Andwegressional district in IndianaWe know we have some broughtinFedExservicesis home to Cleveland-Cliffsproblems, but the U.S. has the by way of example, and weEastChicagofacilitiesandsame,orbiggerproblems, were able to move electron- has a large population of retir- said Vedoya. Mexican author-ics and other products, but weees and steel workers.Mrvanities,hepointedout,were alsomadesuretheyhadallsaidimportssubsidizedbyworkingtoaddresstransship-aspects of the supply chain foreigngovernmentsareaments, adding that the problem coveredso that they had athreat to the U.S. industryarequiredclosecooperation chassis,theyhadatrucker,veiled reference to China. amongtheUSMCAgovern-Kristin Decas and they could get it off portments and industry.Decas said the top stake- in 72 hours and not congestl eVel thep layingf ielda Ct U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a holdersinthePortofHue- ourfacilityandpreventourHe said that this was theWest Virginia Democrat who nemesautobusinessareimports of bananas from get- reasonforsupportingthechairs the Energy and Natural BMW, an OEM, that manu- ting into the marketplace. bipartisanLevelthePlayingResourcesCommittee,said factures around the world, andThat upswing in contain- Field Act, which would grantattheGSDFthatCongress Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist brings their cars on differenters continued into early 2023theU.S.InternationalTradeand trade officials were keep- at Oxford Economicstypes of auto carriers that callbut has since declined: TheCommission (ITC) more flex- ing a very close eye on the on the Port of Hueneme.firsthalfofthisfiscalyearibilityinadjudicatingcasesMexico transshipment issue. Decarbonizationwhich On the carrier side Decaswewereupabout13%onand speed up the process. Were watching that verydidnotreceivesomuch saidofWalleniusWilhelm- TEUs but thenas youreThisbipartisaneffortclosely.Weregoingtobeattention in the past, was dis-senOcean(WWL),Theyseeing on the rest of the Westis to make sure that the steelvery careful of what is comingcussed at great length at the ownoceanautocarriersCoast, we are starting to seeindustry continues to thrive,in the back door of our ownconference.JohnLichten- And so, they will bring thesome slips. I think a lot of it isMrvan said. country. We need (Mexico) tostein,theWSDsmanaging shipsinto(Hueneme).Theydriven by consumer demand,With the push toward vehi- be a reliable partner, he said.partner,predictedtheglobal [Wallenius Wilhelmsen] alsobut its also because some ofcle electrification and renewedButtheUSMCA,ontheemissionsintheindustryin have a stevedoring companythedivertedcargoisgoinginvestmentininfrastruc- whole,hasbeenapositiveits entirety would decline by at the Port, and then they dobacktoitsorganicsupplyture,theU.S.steelindustryfactor for North America and13% between 2019 and 2030. the auto processing for differ- chain. So TEUs are going tois poised to break out of theits steel producers, accordingHe also expected a significant ent OEM brands, somewherebe flat for the rest of the year.long-standingdemandstag- to AlanKestenbaum,execu- dropinChineseproduction between10and12atanyWearenowdown12%tonation,LourencoGoncalves,tivechairmanofStelcoInc.combined with an increase in given timecompanies like14% on TEUs. the chief executive officer ofTheUSMCAhasbeenathe share of electric arc fur-Mitsubishi,Subaru,Volvo,Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said.resounding success, he said.nace (EAF) production. Aston Martin.b ananas GoncalvesalsowarnedDespite some holes, I think itNucorschiefexecu-Another auto carrier thatBananastendtobethatattemptstoside-stepisencouragingcompaniestotiveLeonTopalianpointed is a major player in the portprettyinelasticindemand,tradelawsandUSMCAcome and invest millions andoutthatoriginalequip-isGloviswhichtransportsDecasexplained:People(UnitedStates,Mexico,andmillionsofdollarsin(newment manufacturers and the the Hyundai and Kias fromeat bananas in a good year orCanada) content requirementsNorth American facilities). automotiveindustrywere Korea and brings third partybad year. I would sayourthrough Mexico are a problem.Makingapresentationemphaticallydemandinga cargoeslikeGMandbananacustomersaredoingTheUSMCAisbeingontheGlobalEconomiccleaner product. Toyota back to South Koreaverywell.Theyhavebothexploited. That M (in USMCA)Outlook, Ryan Sweet, chiefTopalian emphasized that often depending on what bidsgone into shipping or carrierisnotalicensefordumpedU.S.economistatOxfordgreen steel products were an theyre awarded. scenarioswheretheyownthingstocometotheU.S.Economics,saidhisfirmimportant part of the compa-Decas added, Cars accounttheir own vessels and theyrethrough Mexico.U.S. Steelbelieved the global economynys product portfolio.Green forabout50%ofourrev- actually also bringing up thirdproducershavebeenvoic- islikelytotipintoamildsteel, he added, was becom-enue but during COVID party cargo from the tropicsing concern that Mexico wasrecessionlatethisyearoringincrediblyimportant, weactuallysawthatgo Bananas can be seasonalbeing used by China and otherearly next year.especiallyfortheautomo-downcloser to43%. when theres less rain. Thecountries to ship their excessSweetsaidtheglobaltiveandhigher-endmanu-And then this year with thebananas are smaller steel into the U.S. which haseconomy is expected to con- facturers.(Those)segments recoveryintheautomotive(RESURGENCEcontin- afreemarketarrangementtractascentralbanksraise(STAGEcontinued on market,wereseeingitgoued on page 24) with Mexico and Canada.interestratestofightinfla- page 24)'