Norwegian shipping and logistic company Wallenius Wilhelmsen has secured a new multi-year contract worth more than $1 billion with a ‘leading global player’ in the premium car segment. The agreement covers both shipping and logistics services, as well as the use of biofuel.
As disclosed, the multi-year contract has a duration of three years, plus a mutual two-year extension option. It started between January and April 2024 with rates in line with current market levels.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen points out that manufacturing companies are increasingly looking for solutions that provide predictability in their supply chain, i.e. long-term contracts that include logistics and transportation services, which coincides with the company’s goal of becoming a total solution provider for vehicle logistics. These multi-year contracts will provide better long-term planning and greater predictability for both the customer and the partner.
This is the third transportation contract announced by Wallenius Wilhelmsen this year. In January, the company signed two contracts totaling more than $1.2 billion with an unnamed global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment and one of the largest automobile dealers in the Americas. This series of contracts will directly support Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s decarbonization plans, such as the use of biofuels, technical and operational improvements to the existing fleet and the development of new technologies.In February, the company announced a transportation contract worth approximately $300 million with an undisclosed major Swedish manufacturing company.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen is assessing the viability of both HSFO biofuel blends and Very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) biofuel blends in the Asian region as part of its global deep-sea trade decarbonization strategy and recently trialed B30 HSFO biofuel while calling Masan Port, South Korea. In addition to biofuels, Wallenius Wilhelmsen believes that methanol is the fastest way to net-zero emissions.
At the end of March this year, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has placed an additional order with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd (Jinling Shipyard) for four optional 9,350 ceu methanol dual fuel pure car and track carrier (PCTCs). The series of PCTCs are all capable of running on methanol fuel, and in the future they can also be retrofitted to run on ammonia fuel, symbolizing the company’s transformation and upgrading. Compared to the originally held options, the four additional options on order have earlier delivery dates.
As the world’s largest ro-ro operator, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has a fleet of 125 to 135 vessels serving 15 trade routes to six continents, as well as a global inland distribution network, 66 processing centers and eight marine terminals.