IAA Has Web Site in Mandarin, Chinese Might Offset Allstate Loss, car haulers, cars move, car carriers

Here’s an interesting note on the international nature of the used car market; we’re now seeing a major used car auctioneer having its web-site done with a Chinese option. Since 30% of Insurance Auto Auctions’ cars move overseas already, having Chinese as an option opens things up to over a billion customers, including Singapore, Taiwan and a large minority in Malaysia. There must be a voice aspect to the web site, since it mentioned that it is Mandarin Chinese; the dialects of Chinese are written the same but pronounced differently.

Interestingly, the IAA site has Polish and Russian options. Poland is a major market for used cars from elsewhere, as was Russia before they slapped on tariffs on imported cars last year. The new Chinese page might be a way of offsetting the loss of the Russian market. Japanese isn’t one of their languages, since the Japanese are generally net exporters of used cars; the Russians, especially those on the Siberian Pacific coast, were big markets for second-hand Japanese cars.

This will mean that car haulers will be pointing west more often coming out of IAA auctions; this will give the car carriers bringing imports in from Asia vehicles to take back with them. It might not be enough to fill up things, but a partial load beats no loads at all for shippers.

Since IAA just lost the account to sell Allstate’s salvage cars, they’re likely looking to increase demand in order to get some of that lost market share back, and catering to the Chinese diaspora as well as folks in China proper is one way to do so.

Source: http://www.auto-mobi.info/index.php?option...16991&Itemid=50

Outlook for Car Carriers in 2010, Treading Water the Way to Go

Business was not looking good for pure car carriers or anyone else in 2009. During the year, approximately one in five vehicle carriers were taken out of service in response to the decrease in demand. Many of the larger, older vessels will likely never be used again and will be set off to the scrap yard.

However, in 2010 it looks like there may be a need for many companies to plan for business to improve. The question will become how companies will look to handle the increase in business with so many vessels currently out of service. Do they bring old vessels back into service or make the commitment to future business by committing finances to new vessels?

Transportation companies will look to be more caution with what they spend while the automotive industry is still in flux. Efficiency and economies of scale will be the order of the day for companies as they look to survive the recent decline in business in anticipation for the inevitable upturn.

Companies that are able to tread water may be in the best position once the decline passes. However it will take cautious spending and sound operational cost management in order to do so. The decline will help those that are able to weather the storm as it makes it easier for companies to phase out older car carriers that are no longer economical to operate. They will be in good position to take full advantage of the economy once it finally improves.


http://www.joc.com/2010/h%C3%B6egh-autoliners-inc

Hanjin Shipping Prepares for Better Times, Ocean freight terminals, auto carrier, auto transport, car delivery

The automobile carrier industry might have been knocked to the canvas by the worldwide financial crisis, but auto transport carriers are preparing to get off the canvas and get back in the fight to grow the car carrier industry around the world. The industry will be stronger once we come through this period and we should learn lessons that will help us avert similar problems in the industry in the future, but we still have lots to learn and do.

The vehicle shipping industry around the world is preparing for an increase in business in 2010 that hopefully will mean a return to a healthy business environment in the industry. In Taiwan APM Terminals has just completed a deal to transfer two piers it operates in Taiwan to Hanjin Pacific, the container terminal sector of Hanjin Shipping, which will give the firm three piers with which to conduct car delivery services.

APM Terminals will stay on site to help Hanjin Shipping workers during the transfer learn what they need to know in order to keep the pier running smoothly. The three piers in question will be handling the expected traffic of some of the world's largest shipping firms in the next year and keeping the three piers operating efficiently is going to be a difficult job. They don't expect to have the facility up and moving freight until sometime in the middle of 2010, but once they do the Hanjin Pacific Terminal will be able to handle twice the present amount of freight movements through the terminal.

It appears that Hanjin Shipping is expecting freight movements to increase in 2010 at the Hanjin Pacific Terminal and they're making moves to prepare for an increase in business. Hopefully, everything goes as expected in 2010 and markets and freight volumes increase as expected. At the very least, Hanjin Shipping will be ready for an increase in their business in Taiwan, and the eventual increase in freight business around the world.

http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/new...20017742739.htm
http://www.apmterminals.com/uploadedFiles/...s%20Release.pdf

Car Carrier Vessels, Ocean freight, Car Transport

Car transport is a difficult job and getting the vehicles to American buyers is a time consuming affair. You only have to drive down an American road to realise how popular Japanese and Korean vehicles are to Americans, but how many people know exactly how the vehicles get to America? A small minority of Americans probably know that the vehicles they desire are brought across the oceans on huge car carrier transport vessels that travel back and forth in a constant parade of titanic ships.
The car carrier vessels that bring the cars from across the seas are specially designed to handle the unique freight carrying requirements of vehicles, such as their large size and weight, which requires they use a roll-on/roll-off freight handling method. In addition, these vessels are built for speed, believe it or not, and the desire to make them faster does influence the design of car carrier vessels.
In order to safely load as many cars as possible onto a car carrier ship designers have logically arranged the decks and implemented ramps on car carrier vessels, in order to make handling the vehicles a lot more efficient during loading, transport and unloading. Space age car carrier vessels plying the oceans of the world today use decks that can move to allow them to take on cars of various volumes and weights. The newer ones even have on board cranes that they use to unload and load containers. Using the systems in use these car carrier vessels can load hundreds of cars per hour in a safe and professional manner and bring vehicles to markets around the world.

^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S Color Magic (2007)" http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/color_magic_2007.htm.
^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S Ulysses (2001)" http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/ulysses_2001.htm.
^ "World's largest car carrier leaves Port of Baltimore on its maiden voyage". The Baltimore Daily Record. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41...31/ai_n19440111.
^ NYK-Nippon Oil Joint Project: The World First Solar-Powered Ship Sails
^ Bill Bryson (1995). Notes from a Small Island. London: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385405348.
^ Emmanuel Makarios, The Wahine Disaster: a tragedy remembered, page 50 (2003, Grantham House, Wellington) ISBN 186934079