A northern hemisphere agricultural problem is causing delivery delays of new cars as entire shiploads are turned back or sent to an Asian port to be fumigated. It is thought that this can be partially responsible for the drop in new car sales that is worrying economists.
These pests are termed " Stink Bugs " and should they get a hold in this country they would decimate agricultural crops and do untold damage across a wide plant variety. Unfortunately, the timing of their life cycle coincides neatly with the ship journeys bringing new cars to Australia.
The peak season for stink bugs is at the start of the northern hemisphere winter and as the cold descends they quickly hibernate. Unfortunately, while in their winter sleep cycle they are hard to detect, but as the ships travels towards the equator the rising temperature signals what they think is the coming northern summer - and they emerge from hibernation. If stink bugs are detected in just a few cars, the entire ship load is refused docking clearance and either turned around or ordered to as Asian port for fumigation. It is not unusual for the time delay to reach three months before they finally arrive in Australia.
The customer who is waiting for the delivery of his or her new car is usually very unimpressed when told there may be a three month delay. There is also a cost factor. Decontamination will add about three hundred dollars to the cost of each car and this is being fiercely contested amongst the car manufacturers and the shippers to decide who pays that bill.
Car transport to Australia is now served by giant container ships specially built for the task. New cars are driven aboard and secured for the journey and they are usually waiting for the ship to arrive in massive holding lots beside the shipping terminal, and it is here they are prone to be infested with stink bugs. Each bulk carrier usually carries a mixed load of car brands from a variety of different countries, hence pinning down the source of the bug infestation can be difficult.
Both the delay and its cost is spread across the entire spectrum of vehicles. It applies equally to the highest priced model from Mercedes to the cheap ute from China and we now have a totally unpredictable delivery cycle which is dependent on agricultural inspections. One of the problems is the prevalence of stink bugs in the northern hemisphere and the contours of a modern car providing ideal hiding places for the bugs to settle. It is impractical to shield the new car in some sort of cocoon because " driveability " is a function of the delivery cycle.
This contamination issue is at its height between November and March of each year. As a result, many canny buyers are only interested in cars actually in the showroom and available for immediate delivery. Getting the colour you desire and the accessories added by the maker can become a tedious wait for deliver.
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