Analysis: How and where does the automotive components industry export?

The Rhenus Group presents the Automotive Components Logistics Guide, which analyses the main markets and means of transport for exports and imports of these products, as well as the principal logistical challenges affecting this industry.

Prepared by the Rhenus Group based on data from the Agencia Tributaria

Road transport is the great ally of the Spanish automotive components industry's foreign trade. France is the major trading partner, with the first position in imports and the second in exports. These are the main results of the Automotive Components Logistics Guide elaborated by the Rhenus Group to analyse the main logistics patterns of an industry in which Spain ranks fourth in Europe.

The report, accessible via this link , confirms the sector's recovery after the sharp decline caused by the pandemic. It also shows the export momentum, with 10 percent growth in the first half of the year, added to the five percent increase at the end of 2021.

The analysis of the data provided by the Agencia Tributaria shows that lorries transport 65 percent of exports and up to 70 percent of imports. Maritime transport is far behind, representing 33 percent of exports and 28 percent of imports. Meanwhile, air transport and rail transport share around two percent of the services with origin or destination in Spain.

The Rhenus Group, a logistics provider specialising in the transport and storage of automotive components, believes that these results demonstrate the importance of road transport for this industry. "The automotive industry requires a very accurate distribution. Logistics quality is a decisive factor to comply with extremely rigorous just-in-time criteria, and road transport has been enormously competitive in this challenge," says Andreu Gutiérrez, Country Sales Director Road of Rhenus Logistics in Spain.

Trade with France: exports by truck, imports by ship

The combined study of foreign trade destinations and the means of transport reveals the disparity of traffic with origin or destination in France. As a result, 95 percent of the automotive components exported to this country are moved by road, while 63 percent of imports to Spain from France are moved by ship. Trucks represent the remaining 37 percent.

Germany, ranking ahead of France as the top destination for exports and second for imports, concentrates almost all traffic on road transport. Morocco, on the other hand, is the third most important country for Spanish exports of automotive components, which are transported almost exclusively by ship.

The volumes of activity with the United States and China also stand out in the maritime index. Both countries lead in terms of air traffic. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is the leading player in rail transport, especially in import flows.

Logistics, the main challenge for automotive components

The document prepared by the Rhenus Group places logistics as an increasingly decisive factor for vehicle component manufacturers. It points out that the effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have stretched the automotive supply chain to unprecedented limits, causing microchip shortages and new difficulties in raw material supply and component distribution.

"The problems arising from the challenging international scenario have shown the complex interconnectedness of the logistics chain in the automotive industry, where a small delay in one of the links has an impact on the entire production," explains Andreu Gutiérrez. For the Country Sales Director Road of Rhenus Logistics, this is an opportunity for component manufacturers to redefine their logistics and assess the possibility of choosing the best partner to entrust their supply chain.