Right now, hundreds of highly collectible and exciting used cars including exotic supercars and JDM legends are currently trapped aboard massive container ships idling in the ocean.
Due to the war in the Middle East, a number of highly important shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz have become blocked. This means that massive cargo ships loaded with Japanese and South Korean vehicle exports are currently holding their station, becoming floating parking lots full of hard-metal cash.
For the $19 billion overseas used-car industry, this means countless vehicles are literally stranded at sea.
When commercial ships like these originally charted for Dubai had to suddenly alter their routes to avoid zones of conflict, harbours that had stepped up soon became full. Now, there are countless ships waiting in traffic jams across the sea as they wait for docking spaces to become available.
Umar Ali Hyder Ali is an exporter operating out of Yokohama, and he saw firsthand the 500 vehicles that have been unable to land at A Sri Lankan port. Unfortunately for those waiting for these cars, anchors have been dropped in the middle of the sea.
He told Reuters the following:
“The cars that we already shipped to Sri Lanka were kind of idling in the ocean, waiting to enter because there was no space”
The cargo he was managing eventually made it, but he’s one of just few, with some ships delayed by more than a week and a half.
It’s not just Peugeots and Volvos hidden inside these shipping containers. Behind the sun-burnt metal sit fifty highly expensive cars, ranging from Ferraris and Lamborghinis to Rolls-Royces. Hyder Ali had 50 of these cars dumped at docks in China and Sri Lanka instead of their real destination, the United Arab Emirates.
Ships coming from South Korea are also seeing similar issues. KDM cars are also waiting for their homes to come into sight.
Yun Seung-hyun, the president of Ventus Auto, a number of their containers are stuck on the western coast of India, waiting for their time to dock at Jebel Ali.
You may be wondering why these cars can’t just be taken somewhere else and sold to a different market. Unfortunately for the companies behind these, it’s just not that simple. Buyers for these vehicles are usually locked in. And even if they weren’t, you can’t just land cars at a random country and expect there to be a market.
“You can’t just simply redirect shipments to Africa or Latin America.” Ali told Reuters.
With rising oil costs pushing freight rates even higher and massive vessels stuck waiting for clearance, things don’t look great for an already struggling automotive industry.