First Shipment of Import Cars Arrives in Port of San Diego

The first load of Isuzu cars and trucks rolled off a transport ship at the National City Marine Terminal on Wednesday, officially making San Diego Bay the sixth California port to regularly receive new cars from Europe and the Orient.

At 8 a.m., about 50 longshoremen began driving more than 600 cars, pickup trucks, utility vehicles and commercial trucks off the Maersk Wind, a cargo ship that arrived from Japan Tuesday evening. Apart from a few special shipments in the past, the delivery marks the beginning of San Diego’s new status as a destination port for imported cars.

The Pasha Group, an imported car-processing company based in Corte Madera in Marin County, formerly handled the Isuzus at a terminal in Long Beach until Toyota outbid Pasha in its effort to renew its lease, said Jim Hull, a senior vice president for Pasha.

The company now plans to move all of its Isuzu imports through the San Diego port for the foreseeable future and terminate its operations in Long Beach by the end of November, Hull said.

Pasha would have preferred to keep its operations in Long Beach, Hull said, but the San Diego port offered attractive financial incentives and is far less congested, he said. The company expects to receive Isuzu shipments about once a week, he said.

In 1989, about 32% of all Isuzu vehicles imported to the United States landed at the Pasha terminal in Long Beach, said Susan Cain, a spokeswoman for Isuzu Motors of America. The company sold 120,000 vehicles in the United States last year and expects to sell a similar number this year, she said.

Pasha’s 10-year lease with the the San Diego Port Authority for the 38-acre terminal in National City is a boost for San Diego’s sagging status as a port for overseas goods. Just a few months ago, the president of the local International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union mourned the demise of San Diego as shipping center, saying officials were more inclined to favor business and tourism development.

San Diego Port Authority spokesman Dan Wilkins said that, if Pasha processes 50,000 to 70,000 vehicles a year in National City as planned, the port will receive $1 million to $1.4 million per year in various fees.

“We’ve been working on importing cars for five years now,” Wilkins said. “It takes a long time to put these kinds of arrangements together.”

Pasha imports automobiles for a variety of companies, including Honda, Volvo, Datsun and Saab, at its terminals in Long Beach, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Isuzu vehicles are the only brand so far that Pasha is contracted to receive through the National City terminal.

Stan Gabara, vice president and general manager of Pasha, said the move to San Diego will create about 50 local jobs. The actual number will vary widely from day to day, depending on when shipments arrive, he said. Pasha’s total San Diego-area payroll will be about $2 million a year, he said.

Pasha might employ as many as 100 people in San Diego within the next few years if other car manufacturers and importers decide to follow Isuzu’s lead, Gabara said.

Pasha’s Hull said the company contracts with the longshoremen to unload them and hires workers from the Teamster’s Union to install options such as stereos and air conditioners.

The vehicles will be shipped by truck and train throughout much of the Southwest, Hull said.

Over the next few months, operations at the 200-employee Long Beach terminal will be distributed among Pasha’s other terminals as the operation there winds down.

Wilkins said the Port Authority will try to expand its share of the car import market because it is a “clean” industry. Unlike other bulk commodities, cars do not require specialized port facilities or special handling. However, U.S. customs agents will be on site to inspect the cargo, Wilkins said.

The unloading of the Isuzus went smoothly Wednesday, and the longshoremen seemed to enjoy the short drives from the boat to the parking areas. At noon, Local No. 29 vice president Robert Bolata said only one vehicle had been damaged: one of the 80 commercial trucks that were being unloaded received a dent while turning a corner.

“They like it,” Bolata said, as he pointed to a worker pulling up in an Isuzu Trooper four-wheel-drive utility vehicle. “That guy wants to take one home.”

Bolata said the Pasha contract is one of the few positive things that has happened to the union after years of declining business. Longshoreman have seen their ranks dwindle to 78 members from 220 in the late 1970s. But the 10-year contract has the workers optimistic.

“This is good for us. Before, if they wanted to make some extra money, they had to travel” to port jobs outside San Diego, Bolata said. “That was OK for the young guys, but not the older ones with families here.”