Höegh Autoliners announced that they have entered in to an agreement with Grindrod to acquire an interest in Maputo Car Terminal Ltda in Mozambique. The parties intend co-operating on issues such as cargo operations quality, with the objective of developing the terminal as a major hub port for the region. 

Grindrod commenced construction of the terminal in 2007 with a concession from the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) to build and develop a car terminal in the port of Maputo. The first phase of the car terminal with a capacity of an annual throughput of 57.000 vehicles was completed in November 2007. The potential capacity of a fully developed terminal is 255.000 vehicles annually. Höegh Autoliners recently announced a “test drive'' of the Maputo Car Terminal allowing customers to evaluate the terminal and its logistics.

“Maputo represents an ideal point of access in southern Africa for import and export of rolling goods,” says Carl-Johan Hagman, CEO of Höegh Autoliners. “We see this region as very interesting in the long term and it is strategically important for us to secure access to further car terminal capacity to enable us to offer efficient supply chain solutions to our customers. We can support the development with our operational and technical expertise and are looking forward to working with Grindrod to develop a world class terminal operation.”

Höegh Autoliners has a leading position in transportation of cars and rolling goods in South Africa.

Growing volumes of vehicles to and from southern Africa in general has put the existing ports and car terminals in South Africa under increasing pressure to handle current and future demand. Höegh Autoliners’ core strategy is to be a port to port service provider, but when strategically important the company engages in other parts of the Ro/Ro supply chain.

Total vehicle imports to South Africa in 2007 were approximately 360.000 CEU while total vehicle exports from South Africa are estimated to be 290.000 CEU in 2008. Höegh Autoliners market share of the imports is 33% while the market share of exports is 9%. The volumes to and from this area are expected to grow significantly in the future as South Africa is ranked as one of the most potential markets in terms of sales growth and the local automotive vehicle production is expected to grow towards 1 million vehicles per annum in the next 3-4 years, with approximately 50% expected to be for exports.

Höegh Autoliners

Höegh Autoliners is a leading global provider of Ro/Ro vehicle transportation services. The company operates approximately 70 Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs) in global trade systems. Main customers are major manufacturers of new cars, heavy machinery and rolling stock as well as second hand vehicles. In 2007 Höegh Autoliners carried about 2 million car equivalent units (CEU) annually, making 3 000 port calls.

Höegh Autoliners’ strategy is to grow its Ro/Ro service offering to match that of its customers. A substantial investment in new ships is underway. Vessels already ordered by the company will grow Höegh Autoliners’ carrying capacity to 85 ships in 2012.

Based in Oslo, Höegh Autoliners has a global network of 30 subsidiaries and representative offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. Company turnover is about US$ 1.3 bn (2007) and it has approximately 600 employees ashore and 1500 seafarers.

Höegh Autoliners is privately owned with Leif Höegh & Co as majority shareholder with 62.5% and A.P.Møller – Maersk with 37.5%.