All Feature articles – Page 111
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FeatureVehicle logistics: Why the only certainty is uncertainty
Constantly shifting political, industrial and logistical currents will ensure change remains the only constant in vehicle logisticsFinished vehicle logistics, perhaps more than other supply chain disciplines, is focused on operations at hand and responding flexibly to changes rather than speculating about future trends. While 2017 could be a year of ...
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FeatureECG column: More of the same or all change?
This year will be one of substantial change, but change brings opportunity… including the opportunity to treat our drivers better Wolfgang Göbel is president of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG) Welcome to a new and probably rather interesting year. We entered 2017 in Europe with a ...
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FeatureFor UK carmakers, ‘Global Britain’ may not be enough
Production of Nissan Juke and Qashqai at Nissan Sunderland PlantThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK automotive trade body, has welcomed the UK government’s ambitions to develop new free trade deals that could benefit the automotive industry, including with large markets like the US and China, ...
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FeatureRecord UK vehicle exports while Brexit weighs on investment and supply chain
While UK ports would suffer if OEMs are eventually forced to shift production to other territories, shipping lines will most likely move with the flowUK car production reached its highest level this century in 2016, while vehicle exports surpassed an all-time record for the second year in a row, ...
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It may not be popular, but collaboration is still the only smart option
Despite the rise in populist protectionism so clearly underlined by the UK's recent vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump's surprising US election win, working together remains the only sensible way forwardSupply chain experts will spend 2017 dealing with the aftermath of the protectionist sentiments that helped propel the ...
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FeatureTrump withdraws from TPP and prepares to renegotiate Nafta
As promised in his election campaign, US president Donald Trump has issued his first executive order by officially withdrawing the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.The future of the TPP is now uncertain, with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggesting China could replace the US but Japan ...
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FeatureFord officially enters spare parts market with Omnicraft brand
Carmaker Ford has launched its own brand of replacement parts for all makes of vehicles, including those not made by the company, as it officially enters the lucrative $500 billion a year aftermarket segment.It already offers its Motorcraft line of replacement parts specifically for its own vehicles.In March last year, ...
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FeatureAutomotive and logistics in focus for UK industrialisation strategy
UK prime minister Theresa May’s plan for the future of British industry following the country’s exit from the European Union (EU) has included guidance on the development of its “world-leading” automotive sector.However, while the 132-page plan gives an approximation of where its competitiveness should be enhanced, the real detail has ...
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FeatureLandstar expands cross-border logistics services in Laredo
US transport management firm, Landstar System, has moved its logistics operations in Laredo on the Mexican border to a bigger facility to meet increased demand for cross-border services.The 2,900 sq.m facility has a 30-door cross-dock and is situated on a 20-hectare site that can accommodate 450 trailers, two and a ...
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FeatureKansas City Southern counts the cost of Mexican fuel price rise
Kansas City Southern (KCS) has said it is paying 70% more for its fuel in Mexico than it does in the US, following price hikes of 15-20% in some parts of the country at the start of this year, which have led to widespread protests.Speaking at his company’s fourth quarter ...
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FeatureGerman investigation into Ford over bribery allegations continues
The German authorities have confirmed they are continuing to investigate the role played by Ford in the alleged bribery of Russian officials at the port of St Petersburg between 2010 and 2012 – despite the carmaker’s lawyers issuing a statement recently rejecting all knowledge of the matter.A spokesman for the ...
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FeatureIntelligent logistics supports Bremen output for Mercedes-Benz
Intelligent logistics and a flexible supply chain are being used to underpin the recently launched production of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé at the OEM’s plant in Bremen, Germany, Daimler has claimed – helping to maintain the site as the most complex globally for its number of variants.Markus Schäfer, member of ...
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FeatureBMW to subcontract additional X1 output to the Netherlands
The VDL Nedcar contract manufacturing plant in the Netherlands will start assembly of the BMW X1 this August to serve local and global export markets, sharing output with BMW’s plant in Regensburg in south-east Germany, the carmaker has confirmed.By sharing production of the model at the Dutch plant, close to ...
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FeatureEmerging market growth overshadowed by protectionism concerns
China topped the index once again, based on market size, ease of doing business and logistics infrastructureThe outlook for growth in emerging markets is decidedly mixed, according to a recent survey of logistics and supply chain professionals, with economic uncertainty compounded by worries over rising protectionism and restrictions to ...
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FeatureZF establishes world’s second largest supplier of aftermarket parts
Germany’s ZF has established a dedicated new aftermarket division – ZF Aftermarket – which it says is the second largest supplier of premium aftermarket parts in the world.ZF Aftermarket will supply global customers with five product brands and associated services.The move stems from ZF’s takeover of rival parts maker TRW ...
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FeaturePSA and CK Birla to start joint production operations in India
Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board of PSA Group (left), and CK Birla, chairman of the CK Birla GroupFrench carmaker PSA Group and India’s CK Birla group have revealed plans to invest an initial €100m ($107m) for the production of vehicles and powertrains in the state of Tamil ...
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FeatureNissan and Tan Chong Motor begin Sunny assembly in Myanmar
Nissan and its partner in Myanmar, Tan Chong Motor, have begun assembling Nissan’s new Sunny model at the latter’s local plant for the first time.The move follows a deal struck between Nissan and Tan Chong in 2013 for the first global vehicle manufacturing project in the country since the market ...
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FeatureRo-ro carriers given the right to jointly negotiate US tugboat prices
The US Federal Maritime Commission has decided to permit major ro-ro carriers to jointly negotiate the pricing of tug services at US ports from now on.The news comes after the commission voted to amend the existing cooperative working agreement that shippers Wallenius Wilhelmsen (WWL), Eukor, American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC) ...
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FeatureUS car hauliers: Keeping all eyes on the road
Despite a levelling off in US vehicle sales, car carriers hope to carry on expanding as new technology makes them more efficient. But there are potholes to negotiate, as Automotive Logistics finds out...The car haulage industry in the United States has begun to experience the inevitable – a decline in ...
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FeatureUS tariffs ‘of limited long-term impact’ on Mexico, says WWL
Export tariffs to the US will be of limited long-term impact on Mexico’s automotive sector despite some short- to medium-term concerns, the head of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) in Mexico has suggested.Commenting on an analysis of the Mexican market produced by WWL recently, including the threat of tariffs being imposed ...