GCS adds two more automotive customers to its Novorossiysk operation

Global Container Services (GCS), a key logistics provider for the automotive industry, has won two more customers for the fully tailored supply chain services it operates via the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The company is now carrying CKD auto parts from the Black Sea port to assembly plants in Cherkessk for both the Taiwanese manufacturer Luxgen (SUV and premium class) and the Chinese brand Brilliance Auto.

Containers arriving at the NUTEP terminal in Novorossiysk are taken by block train or bonded trucks operated by the GCS subsidiary Ruscon, the 470km to the Derways assembly plant in Cherkessk. GCS schedules its trains, carrying 54-56 40ft containers, to meet the production needs of the plants, ensuring a reliable and steady supply of components to the assembly lines.

“Initially, the two customers will need just two or three trains a month, but we know volumes will rise as production at the plants expands to meet demand,” says Mr Naraevskiy. “We will continue to upgrade and redesign the services to meet each customer’s specific needs.”

In the last ten years, the port of Novorossiysk has established itself as the gateway for a number of automotive producers supplying assembly parts to plants in Central and Southern Russia. Expansion of car-makers in Russia has been fuelled by the general increase in private incomes and the growing consumption of the country’s middle class.

Other brands using Novorossiysk as their main port of entry for CKDs entering the Russian market include Ford and Chinese producers Lifan, Geely and Chery.