VW uses short-sea option from Mexico to U.S.

   The Port of San Diego received more than 1,000 Volkswagon Beetles and Jettas at its National City Marine Terminal on Aug. 1 as part of a new regular roll on/roll off service between Mexico, the United States and transpacific markets operated by Siem Car Carriers.
   Pasha Automotive Services, which is processing the vehicles at the terminal for delivery to dealers, said the short-sea leg between Mexico and the United States offers a cost-effective alternative to rail transport as increased U.S. sales begin to exceed the available supply of rail cars.
   The vehicles were produced at VW’s Puebla plant and shipped from Acapulco. The new service will call at San Diego about every 18 days. The five-vessel rotation will move up the coast to the Port of Grays Harbor in Washington, where Pasha also operates, before heading to Vladivostok, Russia, South Korea, three ports in China and three ports in Japan before returning to Mexico nine weeks later. 
   The number of vehicles arriving at the Port of San Diego has jumped 22 percent in the past fiscal year, according to the port authority. It expressed hope that other auto manufacturers would consider the new Siem service to move cars from Mexico, Central and South America to the United States.
   The Siem service rotation is efficient because it means the car carrier doesn’t have to sail empty on a return leg to Mexico as it would if it operated as a shuttle between U.S. West Coast ports and Mexico, Stan Gabara, executive vice president of automotive and logistics, said in a news release.
   U.S. imports of goods from Mexico increased 14.4 percent to $263 billion in 2011, and increased again in the first six months of 2012 versus last year. The supply of rail cars for exports from Mexico is tight after railroads rationalized their car supply when the auto market cratered during the financial crisis. Auto manufacturers have expressed concern about transport delays dampening sales and increasing costs, especially on popular lanes such as out of Mexico.
   VW Group, which will add an Audi factory in Mexico by 2016, already moves finished vehicles from Mexico to the United States on vessels which move on a rotation to and from Europe, as well as by rail. Siem said that VW officials are looking at using the ocean option in light of potential rail car shortages, but are also concerned that Mexican ports might face capacity issues of their own as car manufacturers increase ocean shipping.  – Eric Kulisch