TJRX8

So my car is coming into Jacksonville and those in the North East are coming into the West Coast? doubt it.

TerenceT

come on dude
we are not just talking about your car

not just the 8 either

personally i wouldn't expect them to ship anything directly by water to the east coast, not even TX

it'll come into the west coast, then rail to the diff distribution warehouse/yard and then truck to the dealership

RotorBoy

TerranceT... I hate to tell you but that is what the port of Jacksonville is for. I know most dealers are pretty slack on the information that they know but I can guarantee you that at least Mazda's that are imported from Japan do come to the port of Jacksonville for the East Coast.

BTW.. I have confirmed this from an outside source who works for companies that deal with cargo transportation. He deals with companies like P&O Ned Lloyd, SeaLand, etc. It is not uncommon for these goods to come through the Panama Canal. Also, items enter the port at Jacksonville because of the lower cost than those ports out West. Any way, my .02.

rx8daniel

So, if they east coast deliveries arrive via boat through Panama - how long - can we assume a separate ship will head to the west coast, and another will bypass the west coast -bound ship's stop in HA and head directly to FL?

Farsyde

So the enormous cost of traveling the panama canal, and the fuel cost to take the ship an extra 2000+ miles, and the cost of insuring a transport for an extra 2-4 weeks is cheaper than off loading in CA?? Oh yeah, i thought automakers pulled out of Jacksonville port (can't remember why). My friend in Jax told me BMW pulled out a while ago.

TerenceT

BMW IS FROM EUROPE......grrrr...

sigh
i'll shut up
i guess it's easier to believe the salesman than some faceless dude off the internet

dreamgetter1

I get the distinct impression they feel you don't know what your talking about TT. I say ask the person that hasn't been able to correctly answer any of your questions in the first place!?:D

PlanMan

I'm one of the lucky few that live in Jacksonville, Florida. Tom Bush Mazda which is probably only 15 minutes from the port has notified me that my car was built on 5/29. The estimated date that I'll be able to drive my car off the dealership lot is the first week of July. This estimate includes port installed options 1. Front Air Dam, 2. Splash Guards, 3. Navigation, and 4. Rear Wing Spoiler. All port installed options have been confirmed except for the aluminum gas door, which will be put on later.

zoom44

Navigation is installed at the factory.

frogzapper

For what it's worth, I spoke to my dealer yesterday and he said he thought the boat would be coming into Point Mugu, and that it usually takes about 3wks from the time the boat leaves Japan to arrive at the port. Then it takes about another week to get from the port to the dealer (time to do whatever checks and port installed options they need to do there), so he's predicting the beginning of July for me.

It's actually starting to feel like it's getting close now!

jtdwab

Do you have your vin yet or at least the last 4 digits. If so can you post them. I have a Red GT that is coming to SC through the Jax port. My dealer looked up and one car with a build of May 23 is listed On Water but my car built on the 26 is not listed on water. I am curious if yours is before or after mine?

Thanks,

RotorBoy

Some people in this thread seem to doubt that any import cars, the Miata, or the RX-8 utilize Jacksonville, FL as their port of entry. Particularly this is directed to TerranceT and Farsyde but there may be others. While in all honesty this is 100% irrelevant, as the RX-8 will get here when it gets here. There is nothing at this point that any of us can do to speed up delivery.

First of all, your friend might be right Farsyde. I can tell you that SOME BMW's (& Mercedes-Benz) being exported from the USA are shipped out from the Savannah, GA port. I see them all of the time on the lot waiting to be loaded. The BMW's come from their South Carolina production facility while the Mercedes-Benz M-class SUV comes from Vance, Alabama. Concerning the Jacksonville port, I can assure you that they do accept imported automobiles. The Talleyrand Marine Terminal accepted 615,030 vehicles in FY2002.

It is a fact that some Miatas come from Hiroshima on a ship to Jacksonville. I cannot tell you what states are serviced from Jacksonville, but I feel it safe to say that Florida, Georiga, and South Carolina would be. While some think that this might cost more than dropping all cars from Japan in L.A. or California or wherever on the West Coast and then shipping them by rail, I have to disagree. The economies of scale that can be acheived by keeping all of the vehicles together far outweighs breaking them up into smaller units for distribution. Even when considering fuel (fuel that would have to be used by the trains), the 2000+ miles (miles that have to be crossed either way you slice it), and the cost of insurance, I still feel that shipping is the preferred and fastest method. Remember, insurance has to be bought either way. Arguably insurance on rail might be cheaper due to spreading the risk. However, there seem to be many more rail incidents versus shipping incidents so this would definately be debateable.

I am an avid car enthusiast. I kick tires all of the time and have NEVER seen a port of entry certification on a vehicle, while living on the East Coast, that has a West Coast port as its entry. I am not saying that it doesn't happen but I just haven't seen it. OH and my 2003 4Runner is made in Japan. I have the window sticker. It says quote, "Port/Plant: Jacksonville, FL."

The bottom line is simply that we all want our RX-8, and the sooner the better!!!!

PlanMan

RotorBoy is right. In fact, the port in Jacksonville "JAXPORT" is #1 in the nation in terms of automobile handling. In 2002, they handled a record number of vehicles 615,000. Check out jaxport.com all of the statistics are there. I remember years ago when BMW decided to move its port of entry due to a supposed acid rain problem, but it appears they are in the minority. I know Ford, DaimlerChrysler, GM, Isuzu, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Volvo, Kia and Daewoo all come into Jaxport. School busses, ambulances and used cars and trucks are also included in the count.

Vehicles moving through JAXPORT include imports and exports, as well as passenger cars and trucks brought here to be “processed” by one of four automobile processors: American Port Services (AMPORTS), Distribution and Auto Services (D.A.S.), Southeast Toyota Distributors, Inc., and Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. Inc. The first three are JAXPORT tenants, while Mercedes-Benz has its own facility in Jacksonville.

Processing involves cleaning, inspecting and adding equipment to the vehicles such as luggage racks, sound systems, sunroofs, air conditioning, specialty wheels and leather interiors. The processors prepare U.S.-made vehicles for export to Europe, the Middle East, South America and Puerto Rico, and arrange for vehicles from countries such as Korea, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Belgium and Sweden to be delivered to dealerships throughout the Southeastern United States – including Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas – and as far west as New Mexico.

For much of the 1990s, Jacksonville was the nation’s second busiest vehicle port, consistently finishing just behind the Port of New York/New Jersey – until 2001.

By the way, most of this was cut and pasted from the Jaxport site to save you all some time. I hope it's helpful.

TreknMazda

I emailed Staci, my customer service rep, at RX8orders asking
1) What about the emails we should have received for build, complete and on ship?
2) Where do those ships go for the east coast and what shipping company so we can look up the schedule?

Here is the reply:
I apologize that you have not yet received the confirmation e-mails you were expecting. I have documented your concern in our corporate files. Additionally, the ships can come into either the East or West coast and depending on where the vehicles need to be shipped to, can go by rail or truck. We have 8 ports, and at this point cannot determine where the vehicle will go. Your dealership should be able to tell you as the vehicle gets closer to the U.S. Lastly, we cannot release the shipping lines information due to security reasons.

So on the shipping question (ship, rail, whatever) I guess everybody is right, but not all the time and due to security concerns we get to continue the debate until the ships dock... somewhere:p

Farsyde

well i stand corrected. Just watched a shpeal on TV about the panama canal. You know they are extending the thing from the current Panamac standard of 110ft to over 300ft. I can't even imagine the lagistics of that.

I do remember acid rain being the reason BMW pulled out. Thanks for the info guys.

TJRX8

I guess so. Makes sense to me.

jtdwab

I asked my dealer not long after I ordered where they get their cars from. He said all of theirs come through Jaxport. I don't know what other ports Mazda uses but for Greenville SC the car would normally come through Jaxport. With the RX-8 that is up in the air since their are a few cars coming to a lot of dealers at one time. They may consolidate and bring more cars to one port and distribute by ground transport.

At this point it does not matter to me because the car will arrive when it arrives. Their is nothing I or anybody else can do to speed the process up. As of today my car didn't show On Water. I was the first and only preorder in the first group for my dealer and other cars on his inventory show On Water. The car was supposed to be built on May 26. I don't know where it is at this point, the status is unchanged. I wonder when the next shipment is scheduled to depart Japan.

rx8daniel

other cars as in other Mazda models, or as in other RX-8s they have coming in? I feel sure yours is on the way...

TerenceT

i thought people here are more open minded

Mazda has 8 distribution plan, one of them is in JAX, your dealer's parent plan is JAX, it makes perfect sense for him to say the 8 comes from JAX, does it mean it was imported thru JAX? i say no.

the reason you cannot get a vin is because the import invoice hasn't processed yet or it very well might not have been produced/shipped yet. As my company does logistics, all vechiels were batched in a particular invoice for a particular distribution center, eg: invoice that starts with 101 is for california DC and 102 is for say Seattle's warehouse. If your car is produced, it would appear in an invoice within 3 days, usually by the 5th day, Mazada corporate will see what's coming (invoice wise). they'll also be notified probably electronically due to volume what's on that invoice, namely how many, engine and frame number, product code. At this time, the dealer still do'nt know jack. in fact, they won't know until it arrives at its particular DC, sorted and ready to be deliver.

i import from japan/china, south america and europe, only south american freight uses the Canal. we have two port of entry in the west coast, LGB and Seattle/Kent, WA. all products destined for the east coast/midwest/south east passes thru west coast. and Yes, I have logistics studies to prove that.

i am not denying JAXport and NYC have auto import, of course they do, unless Mercedes and BMW likes to use the Canal to ship to west coast. Yes they are expending the canal because ... of congestion. the only reason why shipment goes thru the canal is 1) not time sensative 2) ocean freight price 3) port strike 4)bulk that cannot be ship via rail.

Also, manufacture usualy have a garanteed delivery date, at least we do, you order 4 months ahead and dealer can expect the goods by the end of 4 months. when one of you strolled into the dealership with a brief case full of money and dealer has no car, who do you think they yell at? Corporate logistics people. Then people like me with give the dealer plenty of excuses :D Dealer adds their and tell you about security concern

:D good luck, ya'all, thank god i am not working for Mazda, but then again, i would be able to look up my own VIN LOL

TerenceT

How about a little friendly wager RotorBoy?

If the car's build in the first week of June (not the salesman yapping but confirmed built date) gets here by end of June or even 1st week of July. You win and i'll buy you a die cast RX8 (when it comes out)

if it comes in afterwards, you buy me one?

anyway, accident at sea does happend, you don't hear about it doesn't mean no incident, case in point, 9 months or less ago, Wallenus Willhemsen line lost a vessel of Volvo (i have picture to prove that), 3-4 months ago, my company lost 15 containers due to a white squawl bronsided the vessel from Japan destine for west coast.

laferle

Just got back from my dealer, who, said my RX-8 was On Water but ETA was July WK 4.

When asked about ports, he said their cars come into port at Tacoma (WA) where they are then sent to downtown Detroit for port-installation before delivery. For all I know he could be full of it, but he mentioned having to return a 6 to port for some reason and it entailed driving 20 minutes to downtown Detroit.

PlanMan

JTDWAB:
You asked for my VIN number. Here it is. Let me know what you find out. JM1FE173340101797.

RotorBoy

HAHA.. Well honesly, I really have no desire to own a die cast model of the car. The key they are getting in Japan on the other hand I would give my left arm for. :D

Really, my argument is not about when the car would get here. As I said in my last post, the car will get here when it gets here. Nothing we do or don't do will change that. I simply was contradicting your point that suggest East Coast 8's will arrive out West and get railed across the U.S. I can drive all over Savannah and take photographs of window stickers of imported Japanese cars showing Jacksonville, FL as the port of entry. Why would the RX-8 be any different. It's not like they filled a transport ship with ONLY RX-8's or even Mazdas. There will be various vehicles on the ship to fill it up. As I pointed out, my 2003 4Runner had a port of entry listed as Jacksonville. I think it all comes back to economies of scale.

Understand that I am not trying to be obtuse.

I can tell that you truly do work in logistics; however, a very good friend of mine does also. I spoke with him and he explained that the average time it takes a ship to travel from port in Japan to J'ville going through Panama Canal is 25 days. While I realize that it takes time to unload the ship and then do whatever has to be done to prepare vehicles for transport to individual dealers, I cannot see this taking too much time. I know that shippers want to expedite shipment to prevent storage fees. Also, cargo sitting on a ship while at port for any length of time has to be costly.

That being said, if I get my 8 and the window sticker says LA, WA, etc. I will eat crow. Please note that you likely won't see me online for a LONG TIME after the 8 gets here.

The bottom line is all we can do is wait. I frankly don't care if my 8 travels to the States via the Space Shuttle as long as I get it.

dreamgetter1

How many pieces would you like it in?
Oops...sorry bad joke...

brothervoodoo

It would have been funny if you quoted the part where he said he "would eat crow". You know, breast or thigh...