Greetings
As you may (or may not) be aware, we are about to enter into a period of significant change within the used Japanese imported vehicle business.
1) The new Import Health Standard (IHS) from Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
Given the BMSB (Stink Bug) issues we faced earlier this year, the IHS has now been revised effectively putting in place measures to ensure no BMSB threats exist to our country from the used vehicle import pathway. There are a number of changes that affect many import pathways, but the most important to you (as used vehicle importers) is how this affects you, your business, and your vehicle supply.
From September 1st to April 30th, starting this year, ALL used vehicles from Japan MUST meet the new IHS standards. Under the IHS, treatments for BMSB are:
a) Fumigation with Methyl Bromide
b) Fumigation with Sulfuryl Fluoride
c) Heat Treatment (to prescribed temps)
Without boring you with the details, this means ALL used vehicles will need to be HEAT TREATED before they can be loaded on a vessel as options a) and b) are not available by law in Japan.
At this stage, due to the very short timeframe of the actual implementation of the new IHS regulations, we believe that there may be a lack of infrastructure in all Japanese ports for the efficient provision of Heat Treatment to cover the average volumes of vehicles being shipped from Japan to NZ every month. As a consequence, there will likely be delays in your vehicles arriving.
The new IHS standard states that any vessel must be 100% clean before reaching NZ shores. Even if there is 1 live stink bug, the vessel will be strictly scrutinised and potentially be turned away without the ability of returning into NZ shores. Shipping lines usually carry multiple market cargos, often consisting of both new and used vehicles. As used vehicles for Fiji also require Heat Treatment, but Australia doesn’t, this has caused concerns for the shipping lines of “cross contamination” of the NZ bound cargo. Needless to say, they are currently considering their positions on risk, liability, and solutions…
Autohub is working closely with JEVIC, our current and long-time pre-export processing partner, and they have stated the following: “We are expecting that our H/T facilities will be sufficient to cover Autohub volume in all ports including Osaka”, so all going well, we should have no issues once any ‘teething problems’ have been addressed. We have also invested in our own Heat Treatment units to ensure sufficient capacity for treatment will be available in the near future.
2) Shipping Package Price increases
During the last 6 months, we have been advised by all the shipping lines we use, that bunker fuel prices have increased over 40% – a result of the global relationship changes between the US and other oil producing nations no doubt. All lines either have or will be increasing their prices to all customers to cover cost increases.
We have also seen a slide in our dollar value against the YEN and USD – both currencies are used to pay our shipping providers.
We are yet to be advised by JEVIC what the additional Heat Treatment costs are to be, but we have had an indication.
NZ transportation and delivery costs have also increased due to fuel price increases and additional fuel taxes. RUC is about to be increased also as notified by the Road Transport Forum.
At this stage, we estimate that with heat treatment and NZ Transportation costs, price increases of between $250 to $300 NZD per vehicle could be on the cards. And on top of these costs, there will be further rate increases by shipping lines.
When we are in a position to confirm new pricing, we will advise. Some of the above increases are likely to take affect for all vehicles being loaded September 1st.
3) Heat Treatment of EV’s and Hybrids
We have received some wide and varied comments from Customers that specialise in EV’s re their concerns about the effects of Heat Treatment on the vehicles batteries. The IHS standard requires a vehicle to be exposed to 60 degC for 10 minutes.
I am sure that these vehicles are subjected to higher temperatures for far longer just sitting in an outdoor car park in Japan at the height of summer… none the less, the facts are:-
If you present a used EV to Autohub to ship from Japan to NZ during the BMSB season, it WILL be heat treated prior to vessel loading, and shipped.
As Heat Treatment is a regulatory requirement by MPI, Autohub will not be liable for and damage or degradation, real or perceived, to EV batteries and associated equipment.
Please proceed with purchase and shipping of these vehicles at your own risk.
If you wish to discuss further, please contact our Customer Service Team at customerservices@autohub.co.nz
As always, thanks very much for your loyalty and support. I’m sure that with some patience and keeping a good sense of humour, we should all get through this next rough patch together successfully…