Having become the leading automotive platform in the world (FT ranking), with the presence of an ecosystem of nearly 110 Tier 1, 2 and 3 manufacturers dedicated to the automotive industry, Tanger Med has developed over the years 200,000 m² of areas dedicated to automotive logistics. In the field, more and more manufacturers are outsourcing their logistics operations to specialists who set up in the port giant’s business areas.
Tanger Med is not just container traffic. The port giant is also a broader concept of port to which are attached industrial and logistics zones, managed and developed by the Tanger Med group. Several zones have thus emerged around Tangier which are grouped by profession.
Expertise in the automotive industry
The automotive industry is present first in Tanger Free Zone (the historic industrial zone) then, since 2012, in Tanger Automotive City (TAC). If the factory of the French automobile group produces nearly 500,000 units per year, the Tanger Med logistics platform dedicated to the automobile, allows Renault subcontractors to be closer to production. Result: “Tangier Med Zones” has become the leading automotive platform in the world (FT ranking), with the presence of an ecosystem of nearly 110 tier 1, 2 and 3 manufacturers dedicated to the automotive industry.
Today, Tanger Med’s industrial platform has world leaders from Europe, America and Asia. 11 of the 20 largest companies in the automotive sector in the world are based in the Tanger Med industrial platform and operate in the wiring industry, metal, stamping, vehicle interior and seat, plastic injection). In addition to Renault, this automotive industry is at the service of another manufacturer based in Kenitra, in particular Stellantis, but also those based in Europe (PSA Vigo, Ford, Renault, Volkswagen, etc.
This is not without arousing a great need for logistics specialists dedicated to the automobile. It must be said that more and more manufacturers have begun to outsource their logistics operations to specialists who set up in the port giant’s business areas. As a result, Tanger Med’s logistics zones are a perfect choice for large multinationals and logistics operators seeking to optimize their operations and redistribute their flow of goods to Africa, Europe and America.
Strengthening of the logistics sector dedicated to the automobile
A hub for the automotive industry, Tanger Med has thus developed the appropriate logistics offer which today includes more than 200,000 m² of operational area operated by renowned players and dedicated to logistics performance for the automotive industry.
In the field, several MAF (Advanced Store Suppliers) have developed in the areas of activity of Tanger Med to support the logistics of automotive parts.
These storage areas serve automotive equipment manufacturers based in Morocco and Europe, in particular, manufacturers Renault and PSA – Stellantis. In addition, nearly 30 automotive suppliers based in Tangier Med, obtain their supplies from these MAFs, to optimize their logistics operations serving the automotive industry, such as Valéo, Yazaki, SUMITOMI, GMD, and many others.
These global players support equipment manufacturers and car manufacturers
Nine of the world’s TOP 50 3PLs are present in Tanger Med’s business areas: DHL, DB Schenker, Nippon Express, CEVA Logistics, Bolloré Logistics, DACHSER, Maersk Logistics, GEODIS, and GEFCO. These global players in automotive logistics, which have been present there since 2018, indeed supply automotive equipment and manufacturers. GEFCO, the world expert in the multimodal supply chain and one of the main automotive logistics providers in Europe, in this logistics zone of Tangier Med, considered one of the main logistics gateways to European and African markets, with more than a billion customers, a new warehouse to support the group’s expansion in this important market.
The 10,000 m² facility, operational since January 2021, allows GEFCO to offer a full range of solutions, including crossings of the Strait of Gibraltar and customs services. This site will also make it possible to extend the storage and transport solutions that the group already offers to a large number of its customers, particularly in the industrial sector. More than 135 automotive companies and suppliers will benefit from GEFCO’s new facilities in Tanger Med, including PSA (100% supplier to the manufacturer), Continental, Faurecia, 3M, Novares and Valeo.
Two years earlier, another global player, Nippon Express, opened its logistics center in Tangier Med. This center, installed on 1800 m², allows to carry out operations of transfer of electric components for the automobile or even automobile interior equipment on behalf of customers like SWES (Sumitomo), Lear Automotive Services. According to the subsidiary of the Japanese 3PL provider, this center allows it to “strengthen its logistics functions in anticipation of future growth in Morocco and North Africa, and in order to set up a structure capable of meeting the needs of its customers as it actively establishes itself in the African market”.
CEVA Logistics, one of the world leaders in logistics, also created a logistics platform in the Medhub logistics free zone in 2020, in order to make it a regional hub for its various customers, including EFTEC and Smurfit Kappa. The project was carried out on a 4,500 m² warehouse, including 2,000 m² for the automotive industry: Automotive body filler, Cardboard packaging. “The group opted for this location in the Medhub logistics free zone, thanks to the simplified procedures and advantages offered by this zone, as well as the key position of Tanger Med and its maritime connections”, explained the CEVA group. Logistics.
Other global players such as DHL and TE Connectivity are present at MEDHUB to support equipment manufacturers, as well as car manufacturers. While the former has developed a 6,000 m² platform there for its customers such as Fujikura dedicated to electrical components for automobiles, the latter has opened a 10,000 m² logistics center to carry out high-precision electronic component transfer operations for its customers such as Aptiv, Sumitomo, Delphi, Lear…
Today, 200,000 m² of logistics area, dedicated to automotive parts logistics, have been developed. Among the global operators, in this case, we can mention SEBN (SUMITOMO Group) which is in the process of installing 6,000 m² which will be dedicated to high-precision electronic components, but also to industrial units through an advanced warehouse.
AMP-POLYMEX (Distributor CHIMEI/CCP, etc.) has also launched its construction site for a 1,000 m² platform via a logistician which will be reserved for plastic raw materials dedicated to the Automotive industry.
In the meantime, in terms of volume, approximately 50% of Medhub flows are dedicated to automotive logistics, i.e. 25,000 Freight units and 140,000 tonnes of goods for 2021. The majority of this 50% is intended for the Zones Free or in Temporary Admission, the rest for export mainly to Spain, France and Tunisia.
In Tanger Automotive City, another free logistics zone of Tanger Med Zones, the Japanese Nippon Express, already present at MEDHUB, has been developing a project there since last September on 18,000 m² to manage import flows from YAZAKI factories in Morocco.
Similarly, Emirates Logistics, also present at MEDHUB, has started a project within Tanger Automotive City (TAC), on an area of 22,000 m², mainly for VALEO and other automotive operators established in the area. It should be noted that the “Automotive Logisitics Platform” has been put into service at TAC on 26,000 m² operational dedicated to automotive logistics for the Renault manufacturer, of which 6,000 m² have been managed since March 2019 by SJL (phase 1) and 20 000 m² directly by Renault since August 2020 (phase 2).
Tanger Free Zone, another activity zone of the Tanger Med group, is not to be outdone. TRANSMEL and INTERLOAD have each started the construction of a 10,000 m² logistics warehouse there.
For its part, SJL (bonded warehouse) which has a 2,500 m² operational platform in this free zone for its customers, in particular HELLERMANN (parts not produced in Morocco), HUNTSMAN (Chemicals) and CABLENA, started a project to build a new space of 10,000 m² dedicated to cars.
Thus, SJL will join in this segment within Tanger Free Zone, global players such as GEODIS (3,500 m² operational for its automotive customers) or MARCOTRAN (4,000 m² operational for its automotive customers).
