Freight News, Sea

Port of San Francisco and Pasha Automotive Services Sign Agreement for Pier 80 Operations

[ May 16, 2016   //   Gary G Burrows ]

Cargo and jobs will be returning to San Francisco’s Pier 80, under a 15-year agreement between the Port of San Francisco and Pasha Automotive Services, a subsidiary of The Pasha Group, a global logistics and transportation company with deep roots in San Francisco.

Under the agreement, Pasha Automotive Services will invest in much-needed infrastructure improvements at the 70-acre site and partner with Mayor Edwin Lee’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to train and hire from local neighborhoods, including Bayview-Hunters Point. Up to 96 ships a year are anticipated to call at Pier 80, to meet growing demand for distribution of cars manufactured overseas and in Mexico, which now eclipses Japan as the major importer to California.

“This is a little bit of ‘back to the future,’ for our company,” said George Pasha IV, president, CEO and grandson of the company’s founder. “Our company began in San Francisco as a gas station at Bay and Van Ness in 1941, and in 1960 opened the first independent automotive port processing plant in the country at nearby Fort Mason. We are thrilled to be back in San Francisco and to offer our customers additional options for their Ro/Ro cargo at this key shipping hub.”

Under the agreement, which contains a provision for two five-year extensions, import vehicles will arrive on Ro/Ro ships from Asia, Mexico and Europe. Pasha will invest in and provide on-terminal automotive and processing services, including car wash and installation of vehicle components in factory-like conditions, and other services needed in advance of delivery. Vehicles will then be transported by truck from Pier 80 to Northern California dealerships. Exports are anticipated as well for the Pacific Rim markets.

In a Port Commissioned economic analysis, projections indicate that the new automotive business at Pier 80 could bring up to $2.9 million in net annual revenue to the Port by year-three of the contract.

Tags: Pasha Automotive Services, Port of San Francisco