ELVIS Calls for Cost Sharing from the Automotive Industry

The ELVIS AG cargo alliance demands more understanding for the situation of the logistics industry in light of the semiconductor shortage and calls on the automotive industry to be open to dialogue and to share in the costs. Due to ongoing supply difficulties, many manufacturers are repeatedly closing their production plants spontaneously.

(Alzenau) “Unannounced plant closures and the short-term postponement of planned production downtimes, which have been the order of the day for many months due to the lack of availability of semiconductors, are putting massive pressure on the transport industry,” criticizes Nikolja Grabowski, board member of the European Cargo Alliance of International Forwarders AG. The reason for the supply crisis is, on the one hand, bottlenecks at raw material suppliers and high competitive pressure from the tech industry, which has been favored by increased remote work. “But we also see that many automotive manufacturers have reduced or even partially canceled their orders due to production lines being halted because of COVID-19. These productions cannot simply restart now,” explains Grabowski.

The commissioned transport companies, which cannot quickly deploy their trained personnel and specially adapted equipment for line operations elsewhere, are thus confronted with a fait accompli. All downtime costs remain with the freight forwarders under the guise of production-related fluctuations.

Transport Companies Faced with Insoluble Tasks

The erratically changing business, especially with closure periods communicated with hardly any notice of just a few days, presents the affected transport companies with an insoluble task: “The entire transport chain is tightly scheduled and individually tailored to each customer, often with contract logistics services preceding it,” explains Grabowski. Even if desired, spontaneously available resources cannot simply be deployed elsewhere in such a short time. “Moreover, the vehicles are equipped with special devices for the corresponding preliminary products. Additionally, companies cannot suddenly deploy their personnel, who were specifically hired and trained for such assignments, in long-distance transport,” says the ELVIS board. The result is costly downtimes for the trucks, for which the automotive industry apparently does not feel responsible: “This is not about expected production fluctuations, but a significant reduction in the contractually agreed annual working days, which are the basis for all calculations,” says Grabowski.

No Relief in Sight

When the situation will ease is currently not foreseeable. “Many experts expect that the effects will still be felt in 2022,” explains the ELVIS board and appeals for understanding for the situation of the freight forwarders: “The situation is no longer economically sustainable for many transport companies. We demand a dialogue about the consequences of this approach and at least a partial assumption of the downtime costs by the manufacturers,” says Grabowski.

Photo: © Loginfo24/Adobe Stock