Volvo volumes holding their own for now

Side-stepping the low blow
that has floored most of the
global automotive industry,
Volvo Truck Industries’
MD Glen Owen told FTW
that his company “is still
going forward”.
“The incoming volumes
of completely knockeddown
(CKD) vehicle
components are still the
same for the moment,” he
added, “although we live
in an environment which is
changing daily.”
In the triumvirate of
companies that handle the SA
supply chain and streamline
the delivery of component
imports to the truckmaker’s
front door on a just in-time
(JIT) basis, shipping matters
are managed by ship’s
agency, Mitchell Cotts
Maritime, while the landside
road transport leg from portto-
plant is run by SA Inland
Logistics (Sail).
The dedicated truck fleet
– specialising in maintaining
the Volvo delivery schedule
– is still running to budgeted
capacity, according to Sail’s
MD, Roland Naidoo.
“Our shipping
consignments are still as
frequent,” he told FTW, “and
the volumes for our transport
fleet are constant.”
The three companies
form an excellent working
team, according to Sunny
Naidoo, freight manager of
Mitchell Cotts.
“The added-value to
the service,” he said, “is
generated by constant
communication and detailed
delivery planning.”
The smooth flow of
container-loads of truck parts
is maintained by daily e-mail
throughout the month.
“Our basic function is to
move each week’s batch of
12-metre containers loaded
with vehicle components
directly from the ship’s side
at the Port of Durban to the
Volvo Truck assembly plant
at Amanzimtoti,” said Naidoo
of Sail.
But it’s considerably more
complex than just simply
trucking containers.
“These are imported on a
strictly JIT delivery schedule
– and have to
arrive at the start of the
assembly line exactly on
time for Volvo to maintain a
constant production flow,”
Naidoo added.
The only disruptive
element to the scheduled
road transport leg of the
supply chain, according to
Owen, is one of those out-ofcontrol
factors.
“Those regular snarl-ups
on the Bayhead Road ,” he
said, “are now predictably
frequent on the ONLY road
access to the port container
terminal area in Durban.”
But the constant
communication between
the three companies helps
to overcome such niggling
breakdowns in the
delivery chain.