A strategy that benefits largely maritime transport

The automotive industry buys more in addition to components in the four corners of the world, preferably in countries with low costs. A strategy that benefits largely maritime transport. The wheels and the car came from China, air conditioners of Czech Republic, Poland engines: the policy of the "global sourcing" is a heavy tendency of the sector, which nevertheless greatly fluctuates according to the cost of routing. Renault is not in rest, marrying his purchases with those of his ally Nissan, while PSA plays a notch below. Currently, 40 of the parts to its terminal factories Peugeot Citroën of Europe come from countries "low cost", but this trend is expected to stabilize, and perhaps reduce logistics costs and the problem of CO2, term according to Jean-Christophe Quémard, Director of purchases of PSA.

From one extreme to the other

Another strategy that may disrupt the industrial map of the automobile: the direct implementation of assembly plants in countries with low labour costs, for a final production largely for export. Evidenced by the factory Nissan built in India, or the Renault builds the Morocco, not far from the port of Tanger Med. Each time, automotive groups strive to bring leading providers in the vicinity, but all do not respond to the prompt, requiring to set up a network of logistics supply over long distances. However, the economic and financial crisis largely delayed such projects, because of the brutal decline in major markets motor.

Indeed, to date, is especially in the transport of finished vehicles related to the crisis reversals are the most visible. Because, within a few months, the sector has gone from one extreme to the other. "The maritime is more affected that the automotive industry, distant destinations saw their volumes collapse", and this despite declines in freight rates up to 30, according to Antoine Redier, Director transportation and automotive logistics in Gefco. "Today, even if the transported volumes tend to resume, many boats remain at dock either have been disarmed." Such owner for example increased from 32 to 15 ships in one year. A brutal reversal, because, until the crisis, it was the era of "more": from 2005 to end of 2009, the world fleet of "car carriers", specialized in the transportation of cars, boats rose by 40 in number of vessels and 51 in terms of capabilities. The building has no means of providing enough new boats, some have not hesitated to extend existing ships, 30 or even 60 meters, in the image of Wallenius-Wilhelmsen. Boats on long journeys are passed to capabilities of 6,000 or 7,000 cars. On European routes, for example to deliver in the mounted cars in Spain Russia, "patterns of transport" builders have expressed the beautiful ships, including lack of terrestrial capacity. "The maritime was the solution that allowed us the most flexibility," adds Antoine Redier.

"Tours of the slag.

But everyone has been taken on its head by this crisis that no one saw coming. And it took many dimensions. Traffic of cars between the Japan and Europe, for example, many fell. During the oil boom, fast ships slowed their speed, to save money. The shipowners, who had up to this tendency to focus on a few points of discharge in Europe and then to have smaller, to leave faster in Asia vessels, again to a number of stops, "slag tours" to serve multiple markets. Another unexpected change: the collapse of the Russian automotive market (50 this year) has deprived of work of many Baltic road hauliers, who suddenly come offer their services in Western Europe breaking prices. What do hesitate freight forwarders who usually opt for the maritime. And while many observers questioned the extent of the recovery of the automotive application, builders, owners and forwarders are still very cautious because the European market seems to be promised to a new decline in 2010.