TRANSPORTATION
Innovative Strategies for Supply Chain and Shipping Challenges
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is driving new thinking .
By Diane C . Walsh Contributing Editor
America has a love affair with cars . There ’ s a road trip on practically everyone ’ s bucket list . Drive-ins are synonymous with family fun night , and nothing compares to riding with the top down .
But the romance was threatened by global supply chain issues that have been making automobiles parts scarce .
As one of the nation ’ s top five gateways for autos , handling more than 575,000 a year , the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is very familiar with the problem . Its frustrations spawned a workaround solution that Mike Bozza , the seaport ’ s assistant director of commercial development , said tapped the port ’ s resources and resilience .
The innovation relies on “ ro-ro ” vessels that ordinarily transport cars by rolling them on and off a ship rather than being plucked off by gantry cranes . FAPS Inc ., one of the Port Authority ’ s longest tenants and a major auto processor , partnered with an automaker and a carrier expand the use of ro-ro vessels and deliver the urgently needed parts to U . S . assembly plants .
The process begins overseas where automakers and other manufacturers pack the auto parts on crates , instead of waiting for empty shipping containers . The crates are strapped alongside the cars , SUVs and other vehicles loaded onto the ro-ro vessels bound for Port Newark .
Upon arrival , longshoremen offload the crates in a FAPS facility for receipt and storage before they are taken to 53-foot tractor trailers for shipment to manufacturing plants .
Since the workaround was implemented a few months ago , officials have given it an unequivocal thumbs ’ up . Bozza proudly points to it as an example of the way the port has overcome challenges posed by the pandemic .
He recalled when the public health crisis struck there was great uncertainty about everything from its effect on cargo volumes and
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Mike Bozza , the seaport ’ s assistant director of commercial development
The innovation relies on “ ro-ro ” vessels that ordinarily transport cars by rolling them on and off a ship rather than being plucked off by gantry cranes .
Photo : Getty Images / iStockphoto / canaran
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