2024 Top 100 Importers & Exporters

Auto shippers tuned up to navigate new supply chain roadblocks

By Bill Mongelluzzo

Having weathered the pandemic supply chain disruptions of 2020 – 22 , US importers and exporters of automobiles and auto parts have encountered a new set of challenges for 2024 . Commercial shipping will continue to mostly avoid the Suez Canal until the security situation in the Red Sea shows some signs of resolution , while draft restrictions remain in place through the Panama Canal amid the ongoing , though improving , drought emergency there .

And the late March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore , a major gateway for roll-on / roll-off ( ro / ro ) vessels , added yet another layer of disruption . Looking farther ahead , the Sept . 30 expiration of the existing labor contract for longshore workers on the East and Gulf coasts will make for nervous shippers .

Despite all this , the industry appears well-prepared to handle the challenges , according to Chris Hopson , manager of North American light vehicle sales forecasting at S & P Global Mobility .

Automobiles and auto parts

TOTAL

1,999,699 TEUs

↓11.3 %

Change from 2022

↓0.3 %

5-year compound annual growth rate

BMW of North America

BYD Continental Tire General Motors

Goodyear Rubber & Tire

Hankook Tire America

Huffy Hyosung Motors

Hyundai Motor Company , Mobis

IMPORTS

1,217,859 TEUs ↓14.4 %

Change from 2022

↑2.1 %

5-year compound annual growth rate

Kumho Tire Lear Corporation

Mercedes Benz USA

Michelin North America

Mitsubishi Motors

Nissan North America / Nissan Trading

Pirelli Sailun tyres Sentury Tire

EXPORTS

781,841 TEUs

↓6 %

Change from 2022

↓3.5 %

5-year compound annual growth rate

Subaru Tesla Tireco Toyo Tires

Toyota Tsusho America

Tuopu USA Volkswagen Group Yamaha Motor Yokohama Tire

“ The auto industry has faced a litany of supply chain events over the past several years , and the learnings from auto makers and auto suppliers from those events will likely help them rise to the challenge of the ongoing logistics environment ,” Hopson said .

Containerized US imports of automobiles and auto parts tumbled 14.4 % year over year to 1.2 million TEUs in 2023 , but volumes were still up 10.8 % from pre-pandemic 2019 after two straight years of double-digit percentage growth in 2021 and 2022 , according to PIERS , a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global . Auto exports slid 6 % to 781,841 TEUs following a 9.2 % drop in 2022 , leaving them down 16.3 % compared with 2019 .

“ The auto industry has faced a litany of supply chain events over the past several years .”

For 2024 , global light vehicle production , which generates imports and exports of auto parts and components , is forecast to edge 0.4 % lower to 90 million units , according to S & P Global Mobility . US production , however , is expected to increase 2.3 %.

And through the first quarter of the year , containerized auto and parts imports have rebounded , surging 15.8 % compared with the first three months of 2022 , according to PIERS .

Managing multiple disruptions

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship will directly impact automobile imports and exports that are carried by ro / ro vessels because Baltimore is the busiest US port by ro / ro traffic , according to an analysis of trade data by Panjiva , a product of S & P Global Market Intelligence . Baltimore accounted for 15.2 % of US vehicle trade in January 2024 , Panjiva found .

However , the impact will be mitigated as other East Coast automobile gateways — including the ports of Brunswick , Ga ., New York and New Jersey , and Philadelphia — are expected to handle shipments that would have moved through Baltimore .

“ The level of disruptions caused to vehicle shipments is expected to be minimalized by a multitude of other options being available to vehicle companies wanting to route their vehicles to the US East Coast ,” said Calum MacRae , director of research and analysis within the automotive supply chain and technology group at S & P Global Mobility .

The logistics of US imports of parts and components for automobile manufacturing — as well as the

Global light vehicle production is forecast to slip 0.4 % to 90 million units in 2024 . Shutterstock . com

34 Journal of Commerce | May 20 , 2024 www . joc . com