b'PORT OF HUENEMES DECAS SEES 24% AUTO RESURGENCE IN 2023by Stas Margaronis, AJOTJuly 2023 | Published in AJOT Issue #755 ocean auto carriersAnd so, they willand other products, but we also made sure bring the ships into (Hueneme). They [Wal- they had all aspects of the supply chainlenius Wilhelmsen] also have a stevedoringcoveredso that they had a chassis, they company at the Port, and then they do thehad a trucker, and they could get it off port auto processing for different OEM brands,in 72 hours and not congest our facility and somewhere between 10 and 12 at any givenprevent our imports of bananas from get-timecompanies like Mitsubishi, Subaru,ting into the marketplace.Volvo, Aston Martin.Thatupswingincontainerscontinued Another auto carrier that is a major playerinto early 2023 but has since declined: The in the port is Glovis which transports thefirst half of this fiscal year we were up about Hyundai and Kias from Korea and brings13% on TEUs but thenas youre seeing on third party cargoes like GMand Toyotathe rest of the West Coast, we are starting back to South Korea often depending onto see some slips. I think a lot of it is driven what bids theyre awarded. by consumer demand, but its also because Decasadded,Carsaccountforaboutsome of the diverted cargo is going back to 50% of our revenue but during COVIDweits organic supply chain. So TEUs are going Kristin Decas actually saw thatgo downcloser to to be flat for the rest of the year. We are now After a decline in auto shipments during43%. And then this year with the recoverydown 12% to 14% on TEUs.thepandemic,therehasbeena24%in the automotive market, were seeing it goBananasincreaseinPortofHuenemeautoship- back upwards of 50%.mentsduring2023,accordingtoKristinHigh and Heavy Cargoes Bananastendtobeprettyinelasticin demand,Decasexplained:Peopleeat Decas, Executive Director. The high and heavy equipment shipmentsbananas in a good year or bad year. I would InaninterviewwithAJOTattheAgri- have risen sharply: In a good week prior tosayour banana customers are doing very cultureTransportationCoalition(AgTC)the pandemic, we might move 40 pieces ofwell. They have both gone into shipping or conference in Tacoma, Washington, Decashigh and heavy. Now we can move as muchcarrier scenarios where they own their own remarked, We are seeing some real recal- as 500-600 pieces, and we are still seeingvessels and theyre actually also bringing ibration in the auto market. . Wesaw athat type of volume. So, our high and heavyupthirdpartycargofromthetropics slip during the pandemic with the (declinebusiness is continuing to be really strong,Bananas can be seasonalwhen theres in) production of the semiconductor chipswhichiskindoffactoringintosomeofless rain. The bananas are smallerreallyimpactingthatindustry.Wesawathosegrowthnumbers.FortypiecesthatThe business is doing well and the main decline (of) about 12% infiscal year 2022.we saw in the past are now 500 pieces.shippers Chiquita and Del Monte are in a This year, youre seeing real recovery in theThats things like yachts, tractors, turbines,good place, Decas said. automotive sectorOur business is up 24%heavy things that cant fit in containers, a lotShore Power Electrificationin automotiveoverFY 22. And it is upof big electrical units for utility companies, 5% from our best year everin 2019. So,things like that. Theportrecentlyreceivedagrantfor were going (to) land about 360,000 carsContainers $10.5 million to provide shore power elec-this year. trificationforshipssotheycanturnoff Decas said the top stakeholders in theThe container business was running reallytheir engines and not generate emissions Port of Huenemes auto business are BMW,strong during the pandemic and becauseburning bunker fuel: So we will be electri-anOEM,thatmanufacturesaroundthethe Port of Hueneme is a quasi-operatingfying our North Terminal andcome 2025, world,andbringstheircarsondifferentport: We kind of picked the customers whoif we get the lead times on ordering all the types of auto carriers that call on the Portwe did business with to help offset someequipment, we will be fully plug in capable of Hueneme.of the challenges with congestion. And weat every terminal at the Port of Hueneme.On the carrier side Decas said of Walle- brought in FedEx services by way of exam-nius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WWL), They ownple, and we were able to move electronics 20 Back to Contents'