Construction OEMs benefit from new RoRo berth at Hitachinaka port

Recent expansions at Japan’s Hitachinaka port, including a RoRo berth in close proximity to several construction equipment OEMs’ assembly plants, are helping Japanese manufacturers to streamline their supply chains and speed up delivery to European and North American markets.

The Japanese port of Hitachinaka has opened a new RoRo berth as part of its ongoing expansion programme. Located in easy reach of a production hub for a number of equipment manufacturers with nearby factories, the new berth will ease congestion at the busy port and improve transit times to key markets.

Europe and North America are important export markets for these Japanese construction equipment OEMs, and the strategic location of this new berth will help keep supply chains running smoothly. Up until now for example, manufacturer Hitachi’s machinery exports to Europe and North America had been shipped from a berth 4km away from its factory. By comparison, the new berth is less than 1km away, therefore greatly improving the OEM’s access to the port, which is a strategic nerve centre for its global exports.

WW Ocean currently offers two sailings a month from Hitachinaka on the Asia-North America trade route and one sailing a month on the Asia-Europe route, as well as EUKOR's two to three sailings on the Asia-Africa route. Our vessel M/V Asian Vision was among the first to call at the new berth.

Masaki Kunimatsu, Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s head of port and cargo operations in Japan, confirms:

“This new berth will help to improve the efficiency of our fleet and provide easier access and shorter transit times for customers.”