Sallaum Lines Inks Contract With BMW, Ford To Ship Vehicles From South Africa To Europe

Sallaum Lines secures contracts with BMW and Ford for the movement of vehicles from South Africa to markets in Europe.

The International Ocean Transportation Company is one of the top ten vehicle carriers globally. 

Sallaum Lines has secured contracts with carmakers BMW and Ford for the movement of vehicles between the port of Durban in South Africa to markets in Europe. It also disclosed that shipments will begin in January 2022.

According to the company, the vehicles will be transported to the UK through the port of Southampton to Belgium through the port of Zeebrugge and to Germany through the port of Bremerhaven.

“Sallaum Lines is honored and excited to expand its partnership with Ford and BMW,” says its vice-president, Sami Sallaum.

The company has officially nominated Salloum Logistics as its contract partner for finished vehicle logistics. Salloum Logistics, which is located in Germany, has been providing finished vehicle logistics services for more than a decade.

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“We are pleased to work with Sallaum Lines side by side to provide trimodal finished vehicle logistics services to the OEMs,” said Walid Salloum, managing director of Salloum Logistics.

“We have proved a high level of commitment and a solution-oriented strategy to all our customers through the past years. Besides deep-sea services our companies are offering various services, including terminals and vehicle distribution.”

The company is one of the top ten vehicle carriers globally and draws on decades of experience in moving vehicle volumes between the US east coast and Europe to the north and west Africa.

It is now looking to capitalize on backhaul trade through new tenders on its routes between South Africa and Europe – a trade that promises to make its forwarding operations more efficient and sustainable, as well as optimizing its global network.

According to Kay Lemke, managing director of Sallaum Lines in Germany, vessels on the US and Europe to Africa lane have previously been loaded in one direction only. With the new contracts for Europe-bound vehicle volumes, the company is able to fill vessels in the opposite direction.

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The company is also ambitiously restructuring its business to offer customers new and competitive services in an industry that is limited to a small number of major players.

To provide additional capacity for the growth in vehicle handling, Sallaum Lines is investing to expand its fleet size, beginning with two additional pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs). One is being delivered in January 2022, with a second to follow in June. That will bring Sallaum’s own fleet size to ten vessels.

Sallaum Lines has followed a strategic path of vessel acquisition over the last decade and as new vehicle trade increases, it will look to build on its fleet size with sustainable vessels conforming with IMO regulations.

The company will also continue to use chartered vessels, as it has done in the past. The company has thereby secured the additional tonnage required to secure capacity and frequency of sailings for BMW and Ford when output rebounds in wake of the semiconductor shortage.

“Sallaum Lines will also be investing to grow its assets in terminals, land transport, and innovative PDI centers,” says Sami Sallaum.

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