Shipping to Australia is the newest bottleneck as supply-line problems and production slowdowns continue to hit delivery dates – and prices – for new-car buyers.
Australia’s frustrated new-car buyers are being faced with another source of showroom delays – shipping.
Overcrowded shipping schedules and slow dockside turnarounds are hurting the arrival of cars already delayed by the semiconductor shortage, production-line slowdowns, and global parts supply interruptions.
Even as factories gear up for a return to post-COVID production levels, there are still delays for loading and unloading vehicles onto the international fleet of roll-on, roll-off car carriers hit by COVID.
The falling value of the Australian dollar is also impacting the cost of shipping, as transport bills are generally paid in US dollars.
The rising price of fuel – and a shortage of the giant containers used to transport vital car parts – is also creating havoc.
“Costs continue to go up. We’re expecting further increases in shipping (costs) in the first quarter of 2023 [January to March],” an executive at one of Australia’s major vehicle importers told Drive.
The executive believes the rate of new-car deliveries will improve in the first half of next year, but admits companies are still battling to get vehicles onto ships.
“Shipping seems to be easing. As the ports globally have improved, in terms of coping with COVID, the ships available are returning to normal efficiency,” he told Drive.
“There hasn’t been any increase in ships – the sailing time has returned to normal and so has the loading and unloading.”
The executive said the number of roll-on, roll-off ships working the delivery routes to Australia was returning to pre-COVID levels, but the cost of parking places on ships had jumped dramatically.
The shipping bottlenecks are even worse for high-roof commercial vehicles and SUVs, because they take up more space on ships – which can cost double the rate for a low-roof passenger car – and importers face a continued hit from the ‘bunker adjustment fee’ applied to the surging cost of fuel for ships.
The cost of shipping, and the ageing fleet servicing the world’s car makers, was highlighted by the respected Automotive News in a recent report.
“A stagnating vessel fleet alongside a steady recovery in demand since the nadir of COVID-19 has now spurred record rates for ships that carry as many as 6500 cars across the globe,” the industry journal reported.
In addition to cars, the cost of shipping spare parts has jumped dramatically and there are long delays in transport times from some companies in Europe.
“The cost of a (40-foot) container was usually $US1200, but it got up to $US12-14,000,” the car company executive told Drive.
Still, the executive predicts some relief in the early months of next year and a chance for some companies to clear at least a proportion of their waiting lists.
“As shipping becomes more readily available, the cycle is coming to an end,” he said.
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