After a decline in auto shipments during the pandemic, there has been a 24% increase in Port of Hueneme auto shipments during 2023, according to Kristin Decas, Executive Director.

In an interview with AJOT at the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) conference in Tacoma, Washington, Decas remarked, “We are seeing some real recalibration in the auto market. ... We … saw a slip during the pandemic with the (decline in) production of the semiconductor chips really impacting that industry. We saw a decline (of) about 12% in … fiscal year 2022. This year, you’re seeing real recovery in the automotive sector…Our business is up 24% in automotive … over … FY 22. And it is up 5% from our best year ever … in 2019. So, we’re going (to) land about 360,000 cars this year.”

Decas said the top stakeholders in the Port of Hueneme’s auto business are BMW, an OEM, that “manufactures around the world, and brings their cars on different types of auto carriers that call on the Port of Hueneme.”

On the carrier side Decas said of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WWL), “They own … ocean auto carriers … And so, they will bring the ships into (Hueneme). They [Wallenius Wilhelmsen] also have a stevedoring company at the Port, and then they do the auto processing for different OEM brands, somewhere between 10 and 12 at any given time – companies like Mitsubishi, Subaru, Volvo, Aston Martin.”

Another auto carrier that is a major player in the port is Glovis which transports “the Hyundai and Kias from Korea and brings third party cargoes like GM … and Toyota back to South Korea often depending on what bids they’re awarded.”

Decas added, “Cars account for about 50% of our revenue but during COVID … we actually saw that … go down … closer to … 43%. And then this year with the recovery in the automotive market, we’re seeing it go back upwards of 50%.”

Kristin Decas, Executive Director.

High and Heavy Cargoes

The high and heavy equipment shipments have risen sharply: “In a good week prior to the pandemic, we might move 40 pieces of high and heavy. Now we can move as much as 500-600 pieces, and we are still seeing that type of volume. So, our high and heavy business is continuing to be really strong, which is kind of factoring into some of those growth numbers. Forty pieces that we saw in the past are now 500 pieces…. That’s things like yachts, tractors, turbines, heavy things that can’t fit in containers, a lot of big electrical units for utility companies, things like that.”

Containers

The container business was running really strong during the pandemic and because the Port of Hueneme is a quasi-operating port: “We kind of picked the customers who we did business with to help offset some of the challenges with congestion. And we brought in FedEx services by way of example, and we were able to move electronics and other products, but we also made sure they had all aspects of the supply chain … covered … so that they had a chassis, they had a trucker, and they could get it off port in 72 hours and not congest our facility and prevent our imports of bananas from getting into the marketplace.”

That upswing in containers continued into early 2023 but has since declined: “The first half of this fiscal year we were up about 13% on TEUs but then … as you’re seeing on the rest of the West Coast, we are starting to see some slips. I think a lot of it is driven by consumer demand, but it’s also because some of the diverted cargo is going back to its organic supply chain. So TEUs are going to be flat for the rest of the year. We are now down 12% to 14% on TEUs.”

Bananas

Bananas tend to be pretty inelastic in demand, Decas explained: “People eat bananas in a good year or bad year. I would say … our banana customers are doing very well. They have both gone into shipping or carrier scenarios where they own their own vessels and they’re actually also bringing up third party cargo from the tropics … Bananas can be seasonal … when there’s less rain. The bananas are smaller…”

The business is doing well and the main shippers Chiquita and Del Monte “are in a good place,” Decas said.

Shore Power Electrification

The port recently received a grant for $10.5 million to provide shore power electrification for ships so they can turn off their engines and not generate emissions burning bunker fuel: “So we will be electrifying our North Terminal and … come 2025, if we get the lead times on ordering all the equipment, we will be fully plug in capable at every terminal at the Port of Hueneme.”