DP World has designed a solution to deal with the roll-on/roll-off and rail capacity crunch in North America.
What the logistics company is calling an industry-first, the solution is based on using 53-foot intermodal containers with racking systems to transport finished vehicles by rail from Mexico to the United States and Canada.
The service loads finished vehicles into containers directly at the factories in Mexico. The containers are then trucked to intermodal rail ramps and moved by rail to destinations like Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Toronto.
“Our extensive experience shipping cars in containers worldwide, the large racking fleet we can deploy globally within weeks, and our expert teams and hyper focus on quality and service have enabled DP World to provide this unique solution in a challenging environment,” said Global Vice President Finished Vehicles, Christoph Seitz.
At destination, the containers are trucked from the rail ramp to designated yards where the cars are unloaded and trucked to the dealerships. Door to door transits range from 8-14 days, depending on the route. It is estimated that the new service will enable an additional 30,000 finished vehicles to be transported between the trading partners in 2024.
In 2023, Mexico surpassed China to become the US’s top trading partner, largely thanks to a burgeoning cross-border relationship based on Mexico’s growing manufacturing sector, particularly in automotive.
In other news, DHL has appointed a new CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Germany and Switzerland.
