Delayed arrival caused by lack of trains?
#1
05-21-2014, 11:23 AM
Delayed arrival caused by lack of trains?
This could be one of the causes for the delayed arrival of the '15 Fit.
180,000 new vehicles are sitting, derailed by lack of transport trains - Autoblog
180,000 new vehicles are sitting, derailed by lack of transport trains - Autoblog
#2
05-21-2014, 11:27 AM
Yes someone just posted this in the "waiting for the fit to go on sale.." thread.
It matches with what the dealer has been telling me about trains being derailed on March 11th (my first expected delivery date of my fit) and today, when my dealer called me and said that the congestion is now clearing up and my fit has a new delivery date of June 1st.
I believe that the major recall and crushing is probably just rubbish. There's not a lot of news in the train world.
#3
05-21-2014, 01:05 PM
Trains have been having problems. More oil has been getting shipped that way and the winter was worse than usual, causing lots of delays on its own. Farmers are having trouble shipping crops and getting fertilizer. How many choices of imported cars are on any particular car lot isn't the railroads' biggest concern right now.
Dealers don't like it and people who are really into cars don't like it, but they kind of get outvoted by food and fuel.
Dealers don't like it and people who are really into cars don't like it, but they kind of get outvoted by food and fuel.
#5
05-21-2014, 02:52 PM
Follow the article's link to the original Detroit News article.
Toyota Motor Corp. said rail delays have made it difficult to get vehicles such as the popular RAV4 and Highlander to dealerships. For example, earlier this month Toyota had about 1,000 Lexus RX SUVs ready to be sent “that have been held up by the rail car shortage,”
In Flint, rows and rows of 2015 heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra pickups are parked off-site in a guarded lot near the Flint Truck Assembly Plant until they can be shipped by rail. The bad winter also hurt deliveries of GM’s full-size SUVs introduced in the first quarter.
Honda North America confirmed it has experienced shipping delays. “We are working with our rail partners to overcome these challenges and have expanded our car-hauling footprint around our plants and ports,”
Ford Motor Co. said shipments of some vehicles, including the F-150 pickup and compact Focus, were delayed because of weather-related rail backups.
shipments were slowed from Chrysler Group LLC’s Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant (Ram trucks) and the Chrysler Toluca Assembly Plant (Dodge Journey and Fiat 500).
#9
05-21-2014, 04:23 PM
I do not think that the rail shortage is the primary reason for the delay of the Fit. I say this for 2 reasons. First, several dealers were delivered Fits and then had them taken back. This would not be a result of not being able to transport cars. second, most of the Fits are transported from Mexico by ships to various ports around the US. True, these cars are likely shipped from the factory in The middle of Mexico to the Mexican ports by rail and some cars are likely transported by rail from the US ports to inland cities by rail. But that is not the case for the majority of cars that get transported from the US ports to the dealers by truck.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.
#11
05-21-2014, 07:43 PM
I do not think that the rail shortage is the primary reason for the delay of the Fit. I say this for 2 reasons. First, several dealers were delivered Fits and then had them taken back. This would not be a result of not being able to transport cars. second, most of the Fits are transported from Mexico by ships to various ports around the US. True, these cars are likely shipped from the factory in The middle of Mexico to the Mexican ports by rail and some cars are likely transported by rail from the US ports to inland cities by rail. But that is not the case for the majority of cars that get transported from the US ports to the dealers by truck.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.
I've been in the transportation industry for over 11 years, with the majority of that in intermodal freight (the double-stacked containers that you see on trains). If in fact there is a shortage of rail cars, it would not surprise me one bit. Domestic U.S freight is moving less and less by truck and more and more by rail; in fact, the fuel savings alone has forced companies to adjust their inventory and shipping schedules to compensate for the slightly longer transit times of the rail as opposed to truck. The point? The larger the demand for rail services and cars, the more the supply dwindles. Add to that the harsh winter and other weather conditions (wild fires, etc.) and you can have major delays.
#12
05-21-2014, 08:02 PM
Actually, there are rail lines that provide service directly from Mexico to the U.S (the Kansas City Southern, or KCS, is a prime example of a major Class 1 railroad that offers Mexico-US lanes). Additionally, there are smaller Mexican rail lines that cross the US border into Laredo, where the cars and containers are then picked up by the major U.S rail lines to domestic rail yards (the Union Pacific operates heavily in Laredo). Frankly, I would assume that Honda would be utilizing the railroads as much as possible, given the obviously close proximity of Mexico to the U.S. After all, if they were utilizing the ships to bring them into U.S ports, why not continue making the cars in Japan?
I've been in the transportation industry for over 11 years, with the majority of that in intermodal freight (the double-stacked containers that you see on trains). If in fact there is a shortage of rail cars, it would not surprise me one bit. Domestic U.S freight is moving less and less by truck and more and more by rail; in fact, the fuel savings alone has forced companies to adjust their inventory and shipping schedules to compensate for the slightly longer transit times of the rail as opposed to truck. The point? The larger the demand for rail services and cars, the more the supply dwindles. Add to that the harsh winter and other weather conditions (wild fires, etc.) and you can have major delays.
I've been in the transportation industry for over 11 years, with the majority of that in intermodal freight (the double-stacked containers that you see on trains). If in fact there is a shortage of rail cars, it would not surprise me one bit. Domestic U.S freight is moving less and less by truck and more and more by rail; in fact, the fuel savings alone has forced companies to adjust their inventory and shipping schedules to compensate for the slightly longer transit times of the rail as opposed to truck. The point? The larger the demand for rail services and cars, the more the supply dwindles. Add to that the harsh winter and other weather conditions (wild fires, etc.) and you can have major delays.
The issue of rail delays, or lack of trains, may have been the reason that Honda did not announce the Port of Brunswick plan until 2 weeks after the Fit was supposed to be on sale.
#13
05-21-2014, 10:44 PM
Thank you for these insights. I agree that you would think Honda would utilize rail transportation from Mexico for distribution throughout the US and that may have initially been the plan. But they announced with much fanfare that the Port of Brunswick Georgia got the contract for the Southeast distribution of Honda Fits manufactured at the New Mexico plant.
The issue of rail delays, or lack of trains, may have been the reason that Honda did not announce the Port of Brunswick plan until 2 weeks after the Fit was supposed to be on sale.
The issue of rail delays, or lack of trains, may have been the reason that Honda did not announce the Port of Brunswick plan until 2 weeks after the Fit was supposed to be on sale.
#14
05-21-2014, 11:19 PM
Doing a little more digging on the internet, I found this report from April 1, 2013 that indicates that the majority of Honda's shipping from their Mexico plants has been planned to be done by ship.
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
http://www.automotivelogisticsmagazi...ough-brunswick
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
http://www.automotivelogisticsmagazi...ough-brunswick
Last edited by TCroly; 05-21-2014 at 11:25 PM.
#15
05-21-2014, 11:42 PM
Doing a little more digging on the internet, I found this report from April 1, 2013 that indicates that the majority of Honda's shipping from their Mexico plants has been planned to be done by ship.
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
Automotive Logistics - Honda to import Fit volumes to US through Brunswick
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
Automotive Logistics - Honda to import Fit volumes to US through Brunswick
#16
05-22-2014, 05:33 AM
Thanks for digging that up TC, looks like things will start to roll a little smoother. :-)
Doing a little more digging on the internet, I found this report from April 1, 2013 that indicates that the majority of Honda's shipping from their Mexico plants has been planned to be done by ship.
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
Automotive Logistics - Honda to import Fit volumes to US through Brunswick
Automotive Logistics - American Honda’s flexible future
Reading this article it appears that the Mexico Car assembly business is booming.
Here is the article from May 7, 2014 about the plan to use the Port of Brunswick for importation of the new Fit
Automotive Logistics - Honda to import Fit volumes to US through Brunswick
#17
05-22-2014, 10:23 AM
Check this out:
Why is Honda Keeping the 2015 Fit From Customers? - Consumer Reports News
Why is Honda Keeping the 2015 Fit From Customers? - Consumer Reports News
“The Fit is being built for the first time in North America, a significant new investment in Honda’s 8th auto plant in the region and one that features some of Honda’s latest and most advanced manufacturing technologies. As this is an all-new plant, we are taking a measured approach to the production ramp up and shipments from the plant have been slower than anticipated.
As we build up substantial inventory to sustain the nationwide sales launch, deliveries of the 2015 Fit to Honda dealerships will begin the second week of June.”
As we build up substantial inventory to sustain the nationwide sales launch, deliveries of the 2015 Fit to Honda dealerships will begin the second week of June.”
#19
05-22-2014, 10:32 AM
It's getting closer.
Also, just because they ship with the port, doesn't mean they don't rely on trains. Trains run all thru the US also, and the ports will ship to places in the US using rail.
#20
05-22-2014, 11:11 AM
I do not think that the rail shortage is the primary reason for the delay of the Fit. I say this for 2 reasons. First, several dealers were delivered Fits and then had them taken back. This would not be a result of not being able to transport cars. second, most of the Fits are transported from Mexico by ships to various ports around the US. True, these cars are likely shipped from the factory in The middle of Mexico to the Mexican ports by rail and some cars are likely transported by rail from the US ports to inland cities by rail. But that is not the case for the majority of cars that get transported from the US ports to the dealers by truck.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.
The Fit delay could still be a result of not wanting the 2015s sitting on the lots, thus making the 2013s harder to sell without some incentives. But that theory loses steam as so many US dealers presently have no Fits at all to sell. Still, there are 2600 2013 fits to sell and even a $1,000 factory incentive per car adds up to $2.6 million that Honda may not want to fork out. What I don't understand, is why Honda choose not to label late production GE Fits as 2014s? It would seem silly to sell a car for 6 months into a calendar year with last year's model designation on them.