If one starts tracking the shipping documents, he may find that cars in tens of thousands are being discharged from or loaded to PCC at Toyohashi previously renown as a timber port. So what is Tahara then?
Tahara is a port district where Toyota Motor Corp. has established its own car factory with own test track, open air storage and water front facilities. All this is known as Toyota's Tahara Terminal. Heart of Toyota lies somewhat to North, in Toyota City. There are concentrated its five oldest car factories. But output of any of those does not match the output of the 6th factory in Tahara, where production amounts to seven thousand cars per day: mainly Lexuses, Priuses, Highlanders & 4-Runners. It should be mentioned that there is one more factory built in Moji, city of Kati Kyushu, Fukuoka. Moji is the latest 7th factory producing generally Toyota trucks, fork lifts and buses. Therefore Tahara stays Toyota's largest single manufacturing site of passenger cars in Japan.
Idea of establishing Tahara Terminal lies in the necessity for Toyota to create logistic hubs for its production. Whatever is manufactured in Toyota City for export is being driven by truck car carriers either to Nagoya or to Toyohashi, where cars to be loaded on PCCs.
So it came natural that Tahara factory was born during the time of Toyota's further expansion to be not only a shipping but as well as a large production centre.
Every day the huge fields are filled with cars carried from Toyota City or produced locally at Tahara.
Every day PCCs are coming alongside the terminal and load thousands of Toyotas for exporting abroad. Full load of one ocean size car carrier normally constitutes 4,000 to 5,000 "Class D"-size vehicles. Tahara berth presently can accommodates three 200m-long PCCs at a time.
The main carriers employed by Toyota are NYK, K-line, MOL and its own TFS (Toyo Fuji Shipping). Car carriers in Toyota service are usually less than 15 y.o., have high rating of perfomance and cleanliness. This is mainly the reason why Tahara is berth for modern and new PCCs, leaving old ships outside of the line.
Normally it takes ten hours to load 5,000 units on a ship, thus meaning rate of 500 units per hour through two ramps.
To be able to achieve (and often exceed) this rate of loading it requires about 180 people involved at a time, out which 140 are drivers. Being given the computer generated stowage and flow plans a team of quality control checkers and tallymen are engaged for real-time progress and stowage position relaying to central hub computer.
Traffic flow is regulated by team of traffic marshals or "signalmen". Stowage at the spot done by drivers and their foremen. Drivers are being moved from decks to outside stock yards by dedicated cars called 'taxies' or 'cabs'.
Lashings put by lashmen, then quality of lashings are checked by lashing checkers and ship's crew.
Outer and internal ramps set and re-adjusted by ship's staff. Finally, all the operation directed by Port Captain, Ship's Boss, Chief Officers, Chief Stevedore and his deputies.
It would be unfair to describe Toyohashi only as Toyota's gates.
Toyohashi port is also one of largest hubs for General Motors & VWT (VolksWagen Transport) cargo.
Toyohashi is traditionally a timber port. Moreover it is a ship construction site too. Many of the latest generation ocean PCCs for NYK and Eukor were born right at Toyohashi Shipyard.
Opposite to Tahara Terminal there is situated Akemi Terminal - a VWT stronghold for import to Japan. VWT chartered K-line ships for Akemi, which discharge about 1,000 of cars every week: VWs, Bentlies, Audis and Porsches.
The main competitor to Tahara Terminal in respect of cargo volume handled are the public wharfs of Jinno (to the North of Tahara across the harbour). Jinno cargoflow is shared among all major carriers: NYK, MOL, WWL, Hoëgh Autolines, K-line, and Eukor. Piers are used mainly for transhipment of such brands as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ford & GM. Amount of cargo being loaded and discharged daily varies between 1,000-2,000 units.
Then the last important player is the Container Terminal. It handles small box ships to and fro, which are almost invisible due to ever presence of numerous car carriers in the harbour.
About agents. Ships calling Tahara and Akemi are served by Sogoport Agency. Jinno calls are shared between Sogoport and the other Toyohashi agency - Suzuyo.
For further reference:
Tahara Terminal vessel berthing schedule for March 2007
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