By Mark Edward Nero
On July 13, a red 2015 Forester became the one-millionth Subaru vehicle to cross the docks at the Port of Vancouver USA.
The SUV was one of 2,077 vehicles arriving after a two-week journey from Japan. Representatives with the port, Subaru of America and various logistics partners, including carriers, labor, stevedores, vessel agents, and transportation providers, were on hand to greet the landmark vehicle and celebrate the long partnership between the port and carmaker.
Subaru of America signed its first lease with the Port of Vancouver in December 1992. Port leadership and the community commemorated the first Subaru vehicle, an Impreza wagon, during a dockside event on Jan. 7, 1993.
“Our 21-year partnership with Subaru is not only important to us here at the port, but also to the community,” port CEO Todd Coleman said. “Roughly $300 from every vehicle delivered to the port gets reinvested in Washington and Oregon.”
Automobile imports generate the most revenue of all commodities handled at the Port of Vancouver. About 200 ports jobs are supported by automobile delivery and processing, including workers who drive vehicles off the ships, process them for sale in the US, install accessories and prepare them for transport.
This summer, the port and Subaru reached an agreement to continue partnering through 2035.
Showing posts with label Subaru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Subaru. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2014
Friday, June 24, 2011
Subaru Delays Start of Richmond Port Auto Import Operations
Automaker Subaru, who was expected to begin moving cars through the Port of Richmond, in the Bay Area, as early as this month, has decided to delay the opening of its import terminal at the port until the fall due to complications resulting from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Earlier this year, the port approved a five-year deal with Subaru that would see the automaker move between 30,000 and 35,000 cars through the port's Port Potrero Automotive Facility. Subaru, which chose Richmond as its Northern California port of entry last year, plans to ship about half of the imported cars out of the port via rail and the other half via truck.
Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay reported to the mayor and City Council earlier this month that, "Subaru has recently informed Auto Warehousing Company (AWC), the port’s operating tenant for its auto business, that the start-up of its Richmond business will be delayed approximately three months until November of this year."
Ben Seher, the vice president of AWC told the Contra Costa Times, "It's a matter of [Subaru] getting their supplies up and in order for distributing vehicles. They're definitely coming; it's just a matter of timing."
AWC, Seher told the newspaper, had already started plans to begin hiring the 40 or so employees the operation will require, but he added that the delay in opening should not impact long-term hiring plans.
Subaru was also not the only Richmond tenant impacted by the Japanese disaster. Honda, who imports about 145,00 cars a year through Richmond's Port Potrero facility, was forced to scale back imports in the past several months due to disruptions caused by the Japanese twin-disaster.
"Once the earthquake happened, it's not just Subaru, it's also Honda that started importing a ton less vehicles," Seher told the newspaper. "It's all the Japanese manufacturers."
Earlier this year, the port approved a five-year deal with Subaru that would see the automaker move between 30,000 and 35,000 cars through the port's Port Potrero Automotive Facility. Subaru, which chose Richmond as its Northern California port of entry last year, plans to ship about half of the imported cars out of the port via rail and the other half via truck.
Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay reported to the mayor and City Council earlier this month that, "Subaru has recently informed Auto Warehousing Company (AWC), the port’s operating tenant for its auto business, that the start-up of its Richmond business will be delayed approximately three months until November of this year."
Ben Seher, the vice president of AWC told the Contra Costa Times, "It's a matter of [Subaru] getting their supplies up and in order for distributing vehicles. They're definitely coming; it's just a matter of timing."
AWC, Seher told the newspaper, had already started plans to begin hiring the 40 or so employees the operation will require, but he added that the delay in opening should not impact long-term hiring plans.
Subaru was also not the only Richmond tenant impacted by the Japanese disaster. Honda, who imports about 145,00 cars a year through Richmond's Port Potrero facility, was forced to scale back imports in the past several months due to disruptions caused by the Japanese twin-disaster.
"Once the earthquake happened, it's not just Subaru, it's also Honda that started importing a ton less vehicles," Seher told the newspaper. "It's all the Japanese manufacturers."
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Earthquake Disaster Shutters Japanese Auto Industry
Nearly the entire Japanese auto industry has been shuttered in the wake of Friday's 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, either due to direct damage to manufacturing facilities or other infrastructure and utility-related problems, according to a research report from IHS Automotive released Monday.
While the report made clear that the situation in Japan was still being appraised, it pointed to at least temporary closures to facilities throughout Japan operated by Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru and Suzuki.
“Many more auto plants throughout the country are at risk of closure, some owing to temporary rolling blackouts that are being considered in order to conserve power in light of the damage to several Japanese nuclear power plants, and some through disruption to the country’s transport infrastructure, affecting everything from parts delivery, personnel mobility and shipping activity at the country’s ports.”
IHS said that in addition to those closures, and the disruption to the country’s transportation and power networks, dozens of other auto parts manufacturing facilities have also been affected.
These problems could quickly ripple outward to impact the rest of the world, IHS said, since many car makers, including those in the U.S., rely on parts manufacturers located in the hardest hit areas of Japan.
“Stoppages at those plants that produce parts that have second or third sources for manufacturing are unlikely to affect overall production very much, but disruption to production of parts that are unique and cannot be easily shifted has the potential to hit output badly at several automakers through the near term,” the report said.
Honda shuttered a research and development facility north of Tokyo after a cafeteria wall collapsed in the earthquake, and has closed several manufacturing facilities until at least March 20. Honda produces about 80 percent of its US-market cars in the United States.
While Mazda has most of its production facilities in the relatively unscathed southern parts of Japan, the carmaker idled production anyway.
Mitsubishi planned to keep its plants closed until at least Tuesday at it evaluates its supply chain logistics with suppliers in the northern part of Japan.
Nissan reported building or equipment damage at six plants, including the Oppama plant where it makes the new electric Nissan Leaf. The carmaker is assessing the impact to future Leaf supply to the United States. Nissan, which manufactures about 80 percent of its vehicles in Japan, said it is shuttering four Japanese plants until at least Wednesday, while two others will shut until at least Friday. The firm lost 2,300 finished vehicles in the disaster, and said some shipments of vehicles to the US could be delayed.
Subaru, which closed all of its domestic factories over the weekend, planned to resume production Monday.
Suzuki said all of its Japanese plants would be closed until at least March 17, when the company would reevaluate the situation.
Toyota shuttered production at all of its plants in Japan at least through Wednesday, curtailing 45 percent of the firm's global production. The car maker lost about 40,000 vehicles in the disaster, although IHS points out that this amount can easily be made up once production restarts. The company has two factories in the heavily damaged northern area of Japan.
While the report made clear that the situation in Japan was still being appraised, it pointed to at least temporary closures to facilities throughout Japan operated by Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru and Suzuki.
“Many more auto plants throughout the country are at risk of closure, some owing to temporary rolling blackouts that are being considered in order to conserve power in light of the damage to several Japanese nuclear power plants, and some through disruption to the country’s transport infrastructure, affecting everything from parts delivery, personnel mobility and shipping activity at the country’s ports.”
IHS said that in addition to those closures, and the disruption to the country’s transportation and power networks, dozens of other auto parts manufacturing facilities have also been affected.
These problems could quickly ripple outward to impact the rest of the world, IHS said, since many car makers, including those in the U.S., rely on parts manufacturers located in the hardest hit areas of Japan.
“Stoppages at those plants that produce parts that have second or third sources for manufacturing are unlikely to affect overall production very much, but disruption to production of parts that are unique and cannot be easily shifted has the potential to hit output badly at several automakers through the near term,” the report said.
Honda shuttered a research and development facility north of Tokyo after a cafeteria wall collapsed in the earthquake, and has closed several manufacturing facilities until at least March 20. Honda produces about 80 percent of its US-market cars in the United States.
While Mazda has most of its production facilities in the relatively unscathed southern parts of Japan, the carmaker idled production anyway.
Mitsubishi planned to keep its plants closed until at least Tuesday at it evaluates its supply chain logistics with suppliers in the northern part of Japan.
Nissan reported building or equipment damage at six plants, including the Oppama plant where it makes the new electric Nissan Leaf. The carmaker is assessing the impact to future Leaf supply to the United States. Nissan, which manufactures about 80 percent of its vehicles in Japan, said it is shuttering four Japanese plants until at least Wednesday, while two others will shut until at least Friday. The firm lost 2,300 finished vehicles in the disaster, and said some shipments of vehicles to the US could be delayed.
Subaru, which closed all of its domestic factories over the weekend, planned to resume production Monday.
Suzuki said all of its Japanese plants would be closed until at least March 17, when the company would reevaluate the situation.
Toyota shuttered production at all of its plants in Japan at least through Wednesday, curtailing 45 percent of the firm's global production. The car maker lost about 40,000 vehicles in the disaster, although IHS points out that this amount can easily be made up once production restarts. The company has two factories in the heavily damaged northern area of Japan.
