Mexico is one of several countries where Ford has been hard at work revamping its lineup -as well as its ways of operating, in general, as of late. Three vehicles Ford builds in Mexico are shipped to various other parts of the world, which can add quite a bit of expense to Ford’s bottom line, not to mention the sticker prices of those vehicles. That’s precisely why Ford is now altering its shipping strategy in that country, however.
According to Reuters, Ford just completed its first shipment of vehicles from the Guaymas port in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, which is near the Hermosillo Assembly plant, where it builds the Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Maverick. Those models were shipped by sea to the South American country of Chile, which is notable because previously, Ford had been transporting vehicles over 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) from Hermosillo to the port of Lazaro Cardenas.
Trouble is, that endeavor was rather expensive, though following the implementation of an infrastructure project headed by Mexico’s outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the once-neglected Guaymas port is able to handle such endeavors now. As a result, Ford could save up to 30 percent in logistics costs versus shipping these vehicles by land.
“This is the first time we can utilize the port following the investment in (its) modernization and expansion,” said Ricardo Anaya, director of manufacturing at Ford Mexico. “This also means that cars could come in, they could enter the Sonoran market and even the American market through the Guaymas port.” However, the project is still ongoing, and following its completion, officials expect that much heavier ships with increased capacity will be able to move even more cargo in the near future.
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Comment
If the project is performed by the actual mexican government and the next one, the project will never be terminated with certainty. Ford needs to foresee that.