Waiting For A Car? - The State Of Importing Cars From Japan ATM

[RBN1]

Waiting to get your car on a ship atm? Got this e-mail from J-Spec earlier today and there seems to be a lot of delays getting cars out of Japan atm.

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this email is going to all J-Spec customers currently waiting for their car to be shipped out of Japan. Some of this I may have discussed with you in part or in whole in the past, but this is a full rundown of what's going on right now. At the moment the shipping situation is fairly grim and we are expecting there to be some delays in getting cars on boats over the next few months. To give you an idea of the problems being faced when trying to get a car out of Japan at the moment, recently at the Kawasaki port we were allocated only enough space for about a quarter of the cars which were ready to go. While this (we hope) is a little worse than what we can expect over the next few months, it is indicative of the shipping situation, we've also been noting on internet car forums people with other import brokers complaining about shipping delays, so the problem is obviously wide spread and almost all of our agents as well as shipping contacts have told us that things will be getting bad for the next few months.

What are the causes for shipping delays at the moment? The problem is three fold:

1) There is a shortage of ships at the moment (in fact the shortage is worldwide and is linked to a reduction in the amount of 'tonnage', or steel, coming out of China) and as such although there is clearly high demand for ships, the carriers cannot add any more to their schedules. The ship Kiwi Breeze, which makes regular Japan <-> Australia voyages about 10 times a year and is one of the bigger ships is in dry dock undergoing maintenance, which is not helping at all, and Kiwi Car Carriers is hiring ships from other companies to take its place with only limited success.

2) As the end of the year draws closer and Australian buyers act on rumours that the 15 year old rule will end a lot of people are buying up cars thinking it is their last chance to be able to import certain models. A lot of the desirable/popular models also only started production in late 89, meaning people have been purchasing and stockpiling vehicles throughout the year which are only eligible for import now. This high demand for shipping, combined with low supply from point 1 is where the difficulty is occurring.

3) Adding to the frustration, some ships lately have been filling up with new cars (most recently from Toyota) which take priority over second hand vehicles such as yours. By the time second hand vehicles are ready to be loaded the ships are almost completely full already, and only a small number make it on.

What we are doing to combat the situation:

The situation is largely out of our hands, however we are getting the extra position here and there by calling in favours with our contacts at shipping companies here in Australia, moving all cars to the TRS station in Japan (meaning they get higher priority), and booking cars on ships before they are ready to go (before import approval) to get them higher up in the queue as we know they won't ship straight away anyway.

We are looking into non operational refrigerated container shipping however we're told that space for these is equally tight right now (it also costs more) so we don't think it will eventuate to anything workable, but if there is any success in this are I will also let you know.

If your situation is different, you're unsure of anything or you need to contact me about any of this by all means send me an email, as soon as we have confirmation that cars have been shipped (which at the moment is only after the ships leave, as they may go on at the last minute) we will let you know. If you ask about what the status of your vehicle is my answer will most likely be that it is booked waiting to go, and we don't know any more than that.

We apologize for any delays which may occur, as mentioned we are doing everything within our power to get cars here as soon as possible but there are some constraints which nothing can be done about. We can't give estimated times of arrival at this point as we simply don't know what will happen, it is possible that new ships will be available with lots of room, or that things may continue on as they are at the moment.

To our West Australian clients or people with cars in areas such as Kyusyu where there are less shipping lines which service that port, although the companies and names are different, the situation is largely the same.

As new developments arise I'll keep you posted, we appreciate your patience and understand how this must be frustrating for some, we're working to get things resolved as soon as is possible.

Kind Regards,

[Guest]

It's nice of Craig to keep you update as others know all about it but havent gone into it as much as Craig has.

It is that bad for space at the moment that one dealer has been offered a refund on 6 cars as the dely to get space is that long.

After christmas they are going to start charging for the cars sitting on the docks is getting that bad as peole use it for free storage.

[sav1]

yeah got a similar story from geoff at prestige. It's a pain in the ass, i've had mine booked since september and still waiting, would be nice to get it before christmas!

[Guest]

I got a Supra the other week and had it on the boat in 4 days.

He was at the start the trip, he is a big player and he is Japanese it makes a difference.

[ocean]

I'm waiting for my gtr to go on the boat. I got my IA a couple of days ago.

Geoff has told me that confirmation of my shipping should arrive soon - car leaving with Kiwi on the 23rd of November..

-Patrick

[RBN1]

It's nice of Craig to keep you update as others know all about it but havent gone into it as much as Craig has.

Ben sent that e-mail. My car has been sitting around for 2 months since I received import approval.

[PTR33]

I have a VR-4 (for the Missus) waiting for a boat too.

Gives ya the sh!tz don't it?

Oh well it was either import another car or poke hot needles in my eyeballs.....

... How big were those needles again? Can I phone a friend please?

[lwells]

Think of it this way: if you cars are delay until Jan 1, then you get charged 5% less import duties

LW.

[Guest]

Ive got test cars sitting over their waiting and I hope I get them on the next boat, leaving from Lower Japan so end of pick up route which makes it hard.

[predator]

Think of it this way: if you cars are delay until Jan 1, then you get charged 5% less import duties

But you may also get charged excess storage fees over in japan next year if it sits there much longer..

p.s. nice mod there PTR33

[Guest]

But you may also get charged excess storage fees over in japan next year if it sits there much longer

I was told that as of JAN out of one of the Ports it will cost $90 per month after the first 30 days,

[lwells]

I was told that as of JAN out of one of the Ports it will cost $90 per month after the first 30 days,

Surely if the delay is the result of a car being bumped off a ship -- ie. the shipping lines fault -- then its up to them to cover the cost?

LW.

[Guest]

Surely if the delay is the result of a car being bumped off a ship -- ie. the shipping lines fault -- then its up to them to cover the cost?

Your Buyier and Broker are the ones who ask the shipping agent to put the car on and with limited room the space has to be shared around.

You just have to wait for space and with so many people sitting cars on the docks for free storage they had to do something.

[druzilla32]

i got my IA about 4 weeks ago..

i would say my car is with all the other cars waiting for a ship

do you think mine would be somewhere at the front of the line?

[RBN1]

druzilla32 - who are you getting your car through and what dock is it at?

[Torrens]

druzilla32 - who are you getting your car through and what dock is it at?

I got my car on board 10 days EARLY this month (13th), so I don't understand the problem with some brokers and dealers out there *shrug*

So I get my car over a week early, the import approval comes in early, and have my compliance already lined up. I should be driving my car by the end of the month, most likely earlier.

As David Chapelle would say "Hooray for me Billy!".

[RBN1]

I got my car on board 10 days EARLY this month (13th), so I don't understand the problem with some brokers and dealers out there *shrug*

So I get my car over a week early, the import approval comes in early, and have my compliance already lined up.  I should be driving my car by the end of the month, most likely earlier.

As David Chapelle would say "Hooray for me Billy!".

once again the question - what docks was your car at and what broker did you use?

[Torrens]

once again the question - what docks was your car at and what broker did you use?

Docks: Brisbane

Broker: Meisei (www.meisei.com.au)

Excellent site and service.

[lwells]

I think he meant which docks in Japan as some don't have the squeeze others do.

Lucien.

[RiverSide]

At this stage I am yet to encounter any real delays.......my vehicles are shipped from Nagoya.