Ford forges ahead with 1st PE shipment

The first shipment of Ford Rangers from the Port of Port Elizabeth left South Africa in April with no major incidents, an achievement that it said boded well for the new multi-port strategy of the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Having predominantly used the Port of Durban’s roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) terminal for all its exports from the country, the expansion of its export capacity has been high on the cards for Ford, leading to the adoption of the new multi-port strategy. A total of 1000 Ford Rangers left the country destined for Europe from Port Elizabeth. Approximately twothirds of Ford’s Ranger production at the Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria was exported, said Ockert Berry, vice president of operations for Ford Middle East and Africa. Most of these will be shipped via Durban’s ro-ro terminal. But, with production set to increase, and considering the congestion at the ro-ro terminal, it makes sense to make use of spare capacity in Port Elizabeth.

Henceforth, 1000 Rangers will be exported monthly out of PE. The new strategy will also see the company reduce its reliance on the Port of Durban. “Production is currently being ramped up for the new Ranger, and the firstever Ranger Raptor – but in normal production an average of approximately 10 000 Rangers are produced each month, with between 6 000 and  8 000 destined for export markets,” said Berry. “In December 2018, Ford reached a new all-time record of  11 091 Rangers produced locally, with 9 160 units exported. “We are experiencing unprecedented demand for the Ford Ranger around the world, and have invested over R3-billion in the recent expansion of our production capacity in our South African operations to fulfil these orders.” According to Berry, the first shipment of Fords that were assembled at the Silverton plant in Pretoria went very smoothly, thanks to the experienced teams from Transnet and NYK Line. Ford’s logistics team in Pretoria provided

additional support. The finished units intended for export were rail-freighted to PE. “Together with Transnet, we evaluated how a multiport strategy could benefit both parties by improving the use of current assets, reducing costs, avoiding the ongoing congestion in the Durban terminal and utilising other ports for imports and exports,” said Berry. Traditionally, PE-based vehicle manufacturers transport units to Gauteng by rail, with the wagons returning empty. Ford will now use the return leg to move export vehicles from Silverton to PE. “This will assist us in making the shipping and delivery from South Africa more cost effective, efficient and faster,” Berry added. He said exports remained critical for the survival of the South African automotive industry and would serve to sustain the large supplier base that supported the original equipment manufacturers. The news that export vehicles from Ford’s assembly plant in Pretoria is now going back on the same line that unfinished units were sent on from PE, also comes as very good news for the logistics industry as empty-leg return freight is a longstanding challenge for supply chain efficiencies. Henceforth a total of 1000 Rangers will be exported monthly out of Port Elizabeth.