According to the National Automotive Association (ANAC), "such maintenance is surprising" and impacts the sector taking into account that December is "a critical month for the industry."
The concessionaire of the Port of San Antonio in Valparaíso, DP World, announced two weeks ago that maintenance will be carried out at the port terminal which, among other things, would prevent vehicles from being unloaded for several days, which has raised alarm in the local automotive sector.
Such maintenance would result in the fact that during December, and especially between the 4th and 11th, along with the 16th and 22nd, new cars cannot be unloaded from ships arriving in San Antonio.
This would affect the entry of some 30 thousand new units.
Maintenance in Puerto San Antonio raises alarms in the automotive sector
For this reason, the National Automotive Association (ANAC) has stated that it is on “maximum alert”, taking into account that December is “a critical month for the sector”, Emol reports.
This maintenance, announced relatively recently, includes the repair of the 4/5 stake table, where more than 95% of automotive imports usually land, and not only private vehicles, but also buses, machinery and others.
According to Anac Secretary General Diego Mendoza, “this maintenance is surprising because, unlike other occasions when the closure of the breakwater has been coordinated, in this case the announcement was not made in advance enough to schedule shipments to Chile, breaking many commitments made by the brands.”
Following this, the automotive sector warns that there are still options such as Lirquén, 600 kilometers to the south, but that due to distance it would entail higher costs, more time and therefore, "a delay for the entire logistics chain."
“The logistics costs of each vehicle increase by up to 10 times; the distance travelled by trucks to unload these cars can reach an additional two million km, CO2 emissions would increase by 1,400 tonnes,” are some of the impacts that redirecting shipments to Lirquen would have, warns Anac, according to Emol.
Finally, although the association held a meeting with representatives of the concessionaire, Anac maintains that there was no flexibility to test alternatives for unloading vehicles in another sector of the port or another type of solution.
Furthermore, a study cited by Anac, conducted by O'Bois last year, indicates that moving a fleet of a thousand cars from San Antonio to Santiago costs $35 million, while doing so from Lirquén to the capital costs $215 million.
